World Ceramics: Discussion Questions

Japan, Middle Jomon period
Storage Jar
About 3000-2000 B.C.
Earthenware with modeled and impressed decor
22 inches wide, 21-1/4 inches high
The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund
82.9.1

Look

  1. Describe the vessel you see. What material is this jar made of? How can you tell? Where does clay come from? What does clay feel like when you begin to work with it? Is it hard or easy to form into a shape? Why? What happens when clay is fired? Why does it have to be fired?
     
  2. What shapes do you see? Are the shapes mostly GEOMETRIC or mostly ORGANIC? What about the shape of the jar itself?
     
  3. Do you think this jar was made (a) on a potter's wheel, (b) using the coil method, (c) with a mold, or (d) by the slab method? Explain your answer. How do you think the artist made the rim? What tools do you think the artist used to make the design on the body of the jar?
     
  4. Is this jar SYMMETRICAL or ASYMMETRICAL? Explain your answer.
     
  5. What do you think this jar would feel like if you could touch it? Would it be rough or smooth? What makes you say that? Do you think this jar would be heavy? Why do you say that?
     

Think

  1. What do you think this pot was used for? Do you think the artist who created the pot was more interested in its use or its decoration? Why do you say that?
     
  2. What sort of containers do you and your family keep your food in? What are your containers made of? What would you keep in this jar? If you were going to make a special container for yourself, how would you make and decorate it? What materials would you use?
     
  3. Compare this jar to the Hopi-Tewa seed jar. In what ways does each work reflect the environment of the people who made it? What do the materials and decorations tell you about the culture from which the work came?
     
  4. Does the appearance of this jar suggest that it was a special jar to the Jomon people? Many Jomon pots had a unique design. Why would the Jomon people want each pot to look unique?
     

 

More Information

Key ideas.
Where does it come from?
What does it look like?
How was it used?
How was it made?
Discussion questions.
Additional resources.

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