The Wan Nian jar type, also known as Wannian, literally menaing ‘myriad year’ because it was favoured as a burial type, denotes a plain storage jar, without lugs or decorative additions.
The Tang Dynasty pottery production is renomated for its finely modelled and brightly coloured tomb figurines. However, Tang Dynasty artisans excelled in the production of functional, single coloured ceramic used in in everyday life and for export. The jars produced in whiteware attributed to the Xing kilns, such as this piece, stand at the head of the Tang series of jars. Xing kiln is one of the most famous kilns during the Tang period, known mostly for its production of white porcelain.
