National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Han period. It seems very unlikely to me that it has been brought to Charchan from any distant place. If it was not actually excavated from inside the Kohna-shahr it must nevertheless have been in the Charchan region.

As seen from the description in the list on p. 21 f. and Pi. i the body is spherical and the neck slightly widening upwards. The painted decoration covers the whole surface except the lowest part, and consists of black and yellowish white on a red slip. The neck has a lattice pattern and the body a sort of "flames" and fringes. The painting is well done and gives a pleasant effect. The colour print does not give full credit to the mellow and warm tones of the original. The ware is yellowish red, rather thin, and of good quality recalling that from Toqsun.

Both the shape and the elegant polychrome design is rather unique, and thus it is at present difficult to determine its proper age with any higher degree of certainty. It does not fit in with either of Prof. ANDERSSON'S groups of painted wares from NW China or with the polychrome pottery of India, the Near East or SE Europe.

On the inside of the rim there are traces of black triangles like those on the Toqsun sherds. There are other general similarities, too, such as the vertical group-

ing of the decorative elements, though the Toqsun vessels have had a more degenerated shape and also a much simpler decoration. It therefore seems likely that the Charchan vase is older than the Toqsun pottery, and judging from its general style, the colours and the ware, it seems to be a good specimen of chalcolithic ceramic.

LIST OF ANTIQUITIES

M i a o - e r h - k u.   cm. wide. The whole exterior was probably paint-

ed red. Thick, light-red ware.

K. 13328: I.   Potsherd from rim of vessel. Near

rim a painted ornament of black, K. 13328:7-8• Fragm. of   two   loop-shaped

open triangles. A handle has probably emerged   handles of earthenware vessels.
from the actual rim. Red ware. Th. 5 mm. PI. 2: I. Red slip with black "spruce-twig pattern". Light-

K. 13328:2.   Potsherd from rim of thin-walled red ware. Br. 15 and 21 mm. —:8 Pl. 2:3.

vessel. Light-red ware with a dark K. 13328 : 9.   Fragm. of handle that has emerg-

line painted along the rim.   ed from the rim of a vessel.

K. 13328 : 3.   Potsherd from the widening mouth Traces of black painting. Red ware.

of a vessel. The inside of the K. 13328: 10.   Fragm. of thick handle, painted

mouth has a moulding and is painted with black,   dark red on the outside. Br. 27

vertical lines. Red ware.   mm.

K. 13328:4.   Sherd from the collar of an earth- K. 13328:11.   Potsherd, apparently from a high-

enware vessel. Painted black verti-   collared vessel. On the inside four
cal lines reach only 1 cm. below the rim. Dark-red black lines, probably vertical. Red ware.

slip on light-red ware.   K. 13328: 12.   Small potsherd with black lines

K. 13328:5.   Small potsherd from the neck of   forming a net. Red slip.

a small vessel. Near rim some K. 13328 : 13.   Small potsherd with dark-red slip

short vertical lines in black. Light-red ware.   and narrow black lines, probably

K. 13328 : 6.   Potsherd from rim of wide bowl. forming a "spruce-twig pattern". Light-red ware.

Along inside of rim a red band 2 Pl. 2 : 4.

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