Fire-flame Cooking Vessel (Ka'en Doki) Japan, Jōmon period (c. 10,500–300 BCE)

Fire-flame Cooking Vessel (Ka'en Doki)

火焔土器

c. 2500 BCE

Japan, Jōmon period

(c. 10,500–300 BCE)

Earthenware with carved and applied decoration

height: 61 cm (24 in.); Diameter: 55.8 cm (21 15/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1984.68

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

Scientifically tested residues from Jōmon vessels reveal that their makers consumed detoxified acorns.

Description

Archaeologists call this kind of vessel “fire-flame,” ka’en in Japanese, because their tops resemble flames. No one knows why the design was created, or what it actually represents. This example is remarkable for the amount that is original. It was recently determined that the bottom from a different vessel was used during its reconstruction, creating a false impression of its intended scale; it would have been about four inches shorter. Since their lower portions were set into holes in the ground during use, bases of pots like these often deteriorated.