Chinese Water Vessel with 4 Handles

Four heavy handles hold onto a big gray pot, one at each corner.

This water vessel with 4 handles is from China and dates to the 20th century. It is pottery and blackware. Large clay jars like this were widely used in rural China to store water, grain and other household goods. This one has a full, rounded body and a wide mouth, with four ribbed lug handles at the shoulder. Two thin incised lines circle the belly. The surface is smooth and dark, worn to a soft gray brown in places. It is 13 inches high and 13 in diameter.

A pot with grip, and the manners to match.