Ceramics comprising Period IV (300 B.C. - 500 A.D.) display remarkable sculptural qualities and elegance of form. Both human and animal themes were explored by artists, often revealing great inventiveness and imagination. This charming vessel depicts an animal with a face similar to a marmoset with the body of a tortoise. A handle is connected to the top of the head and middle of the back. Frontal ridges of the "shell" curve into the upper paws of the animal, held tightly at chest level. The face is quite detailed, appearing to have been modeled from life and given considerable expressiveness, with its mouth slightly open and eyes staring with great curiosity. Touches of orange slip on cream add variation to a vessel unique to its genre.