Pedestal of a stemmed bowl

Inspired by bamboo, potters in China's southeastern region adopted a design resembling bamboo joints on ceramics as early as the Neolithic period. Pedestals of stemmed bowls mimicking bamboo are remarkable for their rhythmic beauty, as in this piece where five horizontal grooves are flanked by two protruding bands, one above and one below. Bowls or cups with bamboo-jointed stems, made with a black layer of clay over a gray core, were a typical Liangzhu product found in the Hangzhou area of Zhejiang province.