Celadon Jar with Incised Phoenix Decoration and Double Rings

This pot has phoenix decoration in the raised band on the body. The phoenix was a sacred bird in ancient legends and honored as the noble bird from the country of the east. Regarded as an important ancient totem, the earliest phoenix pattern appeared on painted pottery during the Neolithic period, and later was frequently used on porcelain. The proto-porcelain celadon, with early green glaze, appeared during the Shang dynasty. It was a transitional product from pottery to porcelain, which developed from hard ceramics with stamped decoration.