12. A pretty pair

Many of the vases we have been looking at would have been made as a pair. This pair of ribbed vases tell us a lot about the approach. Here are two images showing how the decoration has been designed.

The most obvious point is that the vases are, in general design, mirror images of each other. However this is a design full of different decorations and if you look closely you can see that they are many minor differences.

ref 12.3

For example, the light blue roundels on the two vases are of the same general design but details differ. This confirms something discussed on earlier occasions. A standard template was not used for areas like this, craftsmen just improvised on one of number of commonly understood themes while ensuring that the overall look was of a mirror image.

Here are some of the roundels on these vases, with lots of colour even if the designs themselves are a little unexciting.

On these vases we also see for the first time areas that use a regular pattern to cover a space, similar to those used on cloth or other material.

Overall these are bright and colourful vases, full of imagination and energy. At the same time they are very traditional at the neck and base, so seem to be an evolution from simpler vases with less dense decoration.

Object 12. Vase height 19cm weight 193 gm (each)

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