Four jars are affixed to one another and carry in their centre the fifth, smallest jar. The brown ceramic, kiln-fired at a high yet stable temperature, is indicative of technical mastery. Historical events being sympathetic to the evolution of ceramics in Vietnam, this piece can be dated to the Giao-Chi period. However, this type of object is well-known in China and is rooted in the earlier Han works, drawing from a style which dominated for more than two hundred years. It originated in Hunan, a province situated to the south of China’s “central” zone, and bordering on the province of Guangdong (and, among others, Canton and the isle of Hainan.) This was the final frontier with Vietnam, having belonged to them before the Chinese occupation in the 1st century BC., and of their approach to this creation is considered by William Watson (Pre-Tang Ceramics of China, Chinese Pottery from 4000 BC to 600 AD, 1991) to have been a masterpiece of the ceramic art. Watson described the form of the piece thus: “A noteworthy type specific to Hunan which was probably destined for funeral rites: an ensemble of five globe-shaped bowls attached to one-another, a triumph of finely-modelled form and mastership of the kiln.” (Retranslated from a French rendition of the text.) Page 107 and illustration no.80. For a similar example but on a larger scale, refer to the piece in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, from the collection of Avery Brundage, and dated to the 1st century BC, that’s to say, to the Han predecessors. Finally, one should bear in mind the fact that the history of Vietnam regarding its relations with China in the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD is relatively unknown. We know that China had subjugated Vietnam in the 3rd century BC, but without integrating it into the empire before the 1st century AD. Excavations in North Vietnam have not revealed anything older than the 1st century, although the presence on Vietnamese soil of Chinese objects, or Chinese-inspired objects, of some greater date cannot be ruled out. Our ensemble of fused jars can serve as an example, and it is regrettable that we cannot give precise information regarding their discovery.