Black Amphora with Double Handles

This type of black earthenware is known as Lifan after the area of Sichuan province where such jars have been found. The vessel's waisted profile, two low handles, and raised spiral motifs are rather distinctive features for Han period ceramics. The closest aesthetic parallels occur in much older ceramics of Neolithic cultures like Mazhang (c. 3000-2000 BCE) and Xintian (c. 1500 BCE). This unglazed, hand built black earthenware seems to have remained a regional variant that did not survive the Eastern Han period.