Vessel molded in fine, red clay, the flared sides rise from a flat base to a broad rounded shoulder that tapers to a small graceful everted rim. The middle of the vessel is flanked by two handles. The highly dynamic circle design is applied in dark brown and dark red pigment to the smooth burnished surface that commences just below the shoulder. A vessel such as this example would have been used to keep liquids and food cool in the sand. The undecorated bottom half would have been buried in the sand leaving only the decorated top half visible above the sand. China, Neolithic period 2500-2000 B.C. Condition: Some scattered marks, surface otherwise intact and in good condition Dimensions: H. 42 cm Provenance: Bruun Rasmussen Kunstauktioner, Denmark.