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China Then and Now

A fake early tripod vessel

2012.91.20, Tripod jar with face, low-fired pottery
Eason Eige Collection; photo by B. Bernard

At first we attributed this tripod pot (Li, 鬲) to the Qijia culture (2200–1600 B.C.) but others might have assigned it to the Longshan culture (about 3000 to 2000 B.C.). The measures 11 inches (28 cm) tall. More careful study of the piece indicates that it was made recently.

We won't reveal all the reasons we know it's fake because we don't want to make life easier for the counterfeiters, so we'll mention just one here. The pot includes design touches from several ancient cultures, suggesting that someone concocted the pot after looking at examples in multiple books. Authenticated examples from archaeological sites never include such cross-cultural mixing and matching.

Jars with hollow tripod legs are distinctly Chinese; you can find out more about the real ones here.

Guest curator: Meng Zhang.