Large Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) stoneware jar with two loop handles incised with a leaf pattern. Above each handle is a rectangular appliqued ogre mask cartouche. Circa 1st century B.C. Measures about 9"H x 9 1/2" diameter. Above the waist, the vase is decorated with three sets of three raised incised line bands running around the circumference. A mottled olive green glaze accents the upper section of the vase. The lower portion of the vase is an unglazed light terracotta-brown color which darkens to brown at the base. Very good overall condition. The glaze is somewhat degraded and there is some irregularity to the rim. See illustration #35 in "A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics" by Suzanne G. Valenstein, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989" for a similar example. According to Valenstein, this type of Han ware is sometimes referred to as "proto-porcelain."