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We often see all kinds of prehistoric artifacts in museums, and pottery is my favorite one. With its lively shape and plump body, it stands out from a crowd of simple and stereotyped primitive social artifacts.
Tao Wei, Shandong Linqu West Zhufeng Ruins, China Archaeological Museum collection
So how to appreciate a pottery, let us no longer simply use "fun", "interesting", "really good-looking" and other words to describe it when we see it, but a real all-round three-dimensional to appreciate it, the following summarizes a few tips I hope to help you.
First, identity information - ancestral home in Shandong
It was first produced in the middle and early stages of the Dawenkou culture (6100 BC - 4600 BC), and then slowly spread to the surrounding areas, east to the seashore, west to Shanxi, south to Lingnan, north to Liaodong, prevailing in the late period of the entire Dawenkou culture and the entire Longshan period, and the epidemic time was as long as thousands of years.
Second, physical characteristics
Schematic diagram of the structure of the pottery
As early as the Han Dynasty, it has been recorded in the "Shuowen Mustache": Tao Kuan is "a three-legged kettle, with a handle to hold, and a beak to laxative", and the beak refers to the beak of a bird. From this, it can be seen that the pottery is a specific artifact with three legs, handles, and a stream that resembles a bird's beak.
The appearance of pottery is very different in different periods, but the three major elements of flow, fang, and foot are an indispensable feature of pottery.
In the early stage, the material of pottery was mainly sand-filled red pottery and clay red pottery, and the materials of black pottery and gray pottery were gradually produced, and some white pottery gradually appeared.
Third, what is the purpose?
The role of pottery is mainly cooking utensils, and many unearthed pottery stalks have traces of fire at the bottom. The biggest function of the pottery should be steaming, but it may not be food but liquid. Because its "neck" is very long, and the connection with the "belly" is very thin, it is not convenient to stir and clean. So, it should be used to boil water or wine.
The primitive ancestors had already recognized the benefits of drinking hot water, so they created this kind of hot water processing utensils. The three-legged design is more likely to concentrate energy by using a skull to boil water, while the long stream is easier to pour out the water, making it extremely practical.
After the late period of Dawenkou culture, the pottery gradually changed from a daily vessel to a ritual vessel, and the design of the pottery also underwent great changes, the practical function was weakened, and more attention was paid to the pursuit of aesthetics. The most significant difference between ritual and utilitarian is the conscious choice of "texture" and "shape". For example, taking the bottom position of the pottery as the dividing point, it is found that the height above the bottom and the height ratio of the whole body are just about 0.618. This golden ratio gives a harmonious and comfortable aesthetic.
Fourth, aesthetic features
The shape of the pottery embodies the rich imagination and wisdom of our ancestors, and the "beauty" is the most simple and simple in the primitive period, and all the shapes come from nature and life.
"Biomimicry" is an important feature of it.
The primitive pottery is more similar to the shape of a bird, the flow is like a bird's beak, the wing or tail is like a wing, and the belly and feet are also very similar to a bird. This is also because the ancient Dongyi tribe is also called "Bird Yi", which is a nation that uses birds as totem tokens, so this is also a type of utensils that cannot be found in other ancient pottery culture areas. Later, more bionic pottery slowly appeared, such as pig-shaped pottery, dog-shaped pottery, etc., and they continued to enrich the cultural connotation of pottery.
Later, more bionic pottery slowly appeared, such as pig-shaped pottery, dog-shaped pottery, etc., and they continued to enrich the cultural connotation of pottery.
With these four most basic and practical tips, when we go to visit Tao Shao again, we will not be overwhelmed, but will pay more attention to its flow, slush, feet and other details, and then combine his bionic form to see his utensils shape, and finally use Shandong dialect to greet "Have you eaten today"?