Not currently on display at the V&A

The Stein Collection

Handle Fragment
4th century - 5th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This fragment is of the neck of a pottery vessel, fired to terracotta red. The neck is decorated with horizontal grooves. The small handle terminates in an anthemion and probably emulates metalwork. It was recovered around the remains of some smaller Buddhist shrines at the site of Siyelik, near the present-day town of Khotan on the southern Silk Road in Xinjiang, China.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has more than 70 ceramic fragments and fragments of Buddhist sculptures, as well as around 600 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) during his second expedition (1906-8) into Chinese Central Asia, where he once again visited and excavated sites on the southern Silk Road, before moving eastwards to Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, he studied and excavated the Han-dynasty watchtowers to the north of the town, as well as the Mogao cave temples to the southeast, where he acquired material from the Library Cave. From there he moved on to the northern Silk Road, stopping briefly at Turfan sites but not carrying out any excavations. He made a perilous north-south crossing of the Taklamakan desert in order to hasten to Khotan where he excavated more ancient sites, before finishing off his expedition with surveying in the Kunlun Mountains.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Stein Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Clay, wheel thrown with applied work
Brief description
Fragment of a pottery vessel handle, China.
Physical description
Fragment of the neck of a pottery vessel, fired to terracotta red. The neck is decorated with horizontal grooves. The small handle terminates in an anthemion and probably emulates metalwork.
Dimensions
  • Maximum height: 7.72cm
  • Maximum width: 7.62cm
Credit line
Stein Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India
Object history
Found around the remains of a small square Buddhist temple at Siyelik.
Historical context
Siyelik lies south of the Taklamakan Desert, near the Kunlun mountains, and was once part of the Kingdom of Khotan. Stein excavated the remains of a Buddhist temple there and found fragments of stucco sculptures and plaques. These were close in style to those of the Buddhist shrine at Aketerek, nearby, which had flourished in the third and fourth centuries. He also found what he termed "Muhammedan" coins and Sung Dynasty (960-1127 AD) cash pieces. He concluded that the temple site had flourished again in the early Islamic period, perhaps as an Islamic mazar, or shrine. A large number of bone fragments near the shrine suggested that the area had been used as burial ground at this time. The V&A holds, on loan, one fragment of a red terracotta vessel from Siyelik, dated from the fourth to the fifth century AD.
Production
from Siyelik, near Khotan
Subject depicted
Summary
This fragment is of the neck of a pottery vessel, fired to terracotta red. The neck is decorated with horizontal grooves. The small handle terminates in an anthemion and probably emulates metalwork. It was recovered around the remains of some smaller Buddhist shrines at the site of Siyelik, near the present-day town of Khotan on the southern Silk Road in Xinjiang, China.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has more than 70 ceramic fragments and fragments of Buddhist sculptures, as well as around 600 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) during his second expedition (1906-8) into Chinese Central Asia, where he once again visited and excavated sites on the southern Silk Road, before moving eastwards to Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, he studied and excavated the Han-dynasty watchtowers to the north of the town, as well as the Mogao cave temples to the southeast, where he acquired material from the Library Cave. From there he moved on to the northern Silk Road, stopping briefly at Turfan sites but not carrying out any excavations. He made a perilous north-south crossing of the Taklamakan desert in order to hasten to Khotan where he excavated more ancient sites, before finishing off his expedition with surveying in the Kunlun Mountains.
Bibliographic references
  • Stein, Marc Aurel. Serindia: detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China. Oxford: Clarendon, 1921, vol. 1, p.152
  • Stein, Marc Aurel. Serindia: detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China. Oxford: Clarendon, 1921, vol. 4, pl. IV
Other number
Si.001 - Stein number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:INDIA.38

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMay 14, 2007
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest