Footed Jar

The Yayoi period was the time when the culture of rice and that of metal implements developed for the first time in the Japanese archipelago. People's lifestyles shifted from being based on food-gathering to an economy based on food production centering on rice. The social structure also changed and became more complicated. The introduction of wet rice cultivation from China drastically changed the lifestyle of the Japanese people. This agricultural development also affected the development of clay vessels, producing earthenware for different purposes, such as jars for storage, pots for cooking and bowls and plates with long legs for serving dishes.　This jar represents jars that were popular in the Ise Bay area during the late Yayoi period. It has a leg and an ayasugimon (twill) pattern is engraved inside the wide-open rim while a rettenmon (a sequence of dots) pattern and parallel lines are engraved from the shoulder to the body with a spatula-like tool. The entire surface is colored in different shades of red in a striking balance and this color contrast harmonizes nicely with the refined form, adding beauty to this jar. Since the beauty of these clay vessels is comparable to the elegance of clay vessels excavated from the Knossos Palace in Greece, they are also collectively called "palace-style clay vessels."