Objects for Daily Use
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Jar North China Tang period (618�907), about early 9th century Stoneware with glaze H. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Diam. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm) Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.129 |
The trumpet mouth, the small hole, and the bulging shape of this jar suggest that it may have been used as a receptacle for liquid waste. Vessels of a similar shape, often called spittoons or cuspidors, were used as early as the first or second century. Such vessels with larger holes were used as receptacles for food waste, such as fish bones, while those with smaller holes, like this one, were used as spittoons or waste receptacles into which the dregs of tea or wine could be deposited before a fresh cup was poured.
