Footed Jar

This jar was made during the Yayoi period, between the first and third centuries. The jar’s shape is known as the ‘Palace Style’ due to its elegance, which bears comparison with pottery excavated from the Knossos Palace in Greece. The Yayoi period saw the emergence of objects made for specific purposes. They include pots for cooking, jars for preserving food, and footed trays for serving it. During the mid-Yayoi period, objects began to exude a more refined air. This was due to the spread of the potter’s wheel. Whereas earlier objects were marked by warped surfaces and a lack of symmetry, these imperfections could now be removed.

Patterns also changed as potters used comb-like tools to engrave neat, uniform lines on objects as they rotated. This jar’s gorgeous proportionality and the simple-yet-refined patterns on the body and shoulders are products of this new technology. The jar is footed and colored with red pigments, thus suggesting it was used for ritualistic purposes. Perhaps it was used during agricultural ceremonies to store rice husks and other offerings to the gods.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.