(lit. pattern, bright colours), and they seem to imply a knowledge of some means of colouring the ware. As there is no evidence of the use of glaze before the Han period, and enamelling in the ordinary ceramic sense is out of the question, we may perhaps assume that some of the pottery of the Chou period was painted with unfired pigments, a method certainly in use in the Han dynasty. There is a vase in the British Museum of unglazed ware with painted designs in black, red and white pigments, which has been regarded as of Han period, but may possibly be earlier (Plate 2, Fig. 3).
In addition to the Chou tripod, Laufer[11] illustrates five specimens of pre–Han pottery, excavated by Mr. Frank H. Chalfant "on the soil of the ancient city of Lin–tzŭ in Ch´ing–chou Fu, Shantung," a district which was noted for its pottery as late as the Ming period.[12] This find included two pitchers, a deep, round bowl, a tazza or round dish on a high stem, and a brick stamped with the character Ch´i, all unglazed and of grey earthenware. From this last piece, and from the fact that Lin–tzŭ, until it was destroyed in 221 B. C., was the capital of the feudal kingdom of Ch´i, Laufer concluded that these wares belonged to a period before the Han dynasty (206 B. C. to 220 A. D.).
Plate 1.—Chou Pottery.
Fig. 1.—Tripod Food Vessel. Height 6 1/8 inches.
Fig. 2.—Jar with deeply cut lozenge pattern. Height 6 3/4 inches.
Eumorfopoulos Collection.