This jar, with its high foot and sharply defined outward-turning petal-form rim, imitated the shape of a metal vessel. Both were probably used during formal meals to contain the dregs of tea or wine. The jar is constructed of assembled parts: foot, body and neck were formed separately and joined together before the vessel was glazed. Its carved decoration—shadowy around the body and crisp at the neck—enhances the beauty of the glaze and emphasizes the jar’s complex shape. The northern kilns at Yaozhou created this green-glazed stoneware in competition with fine Yue ware, which was produced at more southerly kilns. Yue ware had been accepted as tribute wares by the Chinese court in the 9th century. Yaozhou ware was similarly presented to the imperial household during the 11th–2th century.