beaker
- Museum number
- 2004,0903.1
- Description
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Painted pottery beaker; handmade; approximately cylindro-conical form; small flat base; pale greenish; decorated on the exterior with dark brown paint with a scene of five skidding goats, each with an equal-armed cross between the horns, along the top register, above geometric design of horizontal lines, some framing intermediate registers of vertical strokes and "bowtie" patterns; restored from sherds
- Production date
- 3500BC
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 3.80 centimetres (at the base)
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Diameter: 11.20 centimetres (at the rim)
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Height: 14.50 centimetres
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Volume: 750 millilitres (approximate filled capacity)
- Curator's comments
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For a very similar vessel (also restored and painted), cf. Trudy S. Kawami, 'Ancient Iranian Ceramics from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections' (New York 1991), pp.46-47, cat. no. 6.
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Object label for presentation to the Trustees, 7 July 2005
Painted beaker
Probably from Tepe Sialk, Iran
About 3500 BC
Pottery beakers decorated with a register of “skidding goats” are among the most iconic types of prehistoric pottery from Iran. They are characteristic of the site of Tepe Sialk. Excavations here between 1933 and 1937 established a provenance and chronology for other material which had appeared on the art market shortly before. This vessel was formerly in the collection of the Swiss collector Hans Erlenmeyer (1900–1967). This is the first example of Sialk-type pottery in our collection but complements the very extensive collection made by Sir Aurel Stein on his surveys across southern Iran.
ANE 2004,0903.1
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Restored from sherds
- Acquisition date
- 2004
- Acquisition notes
- Sold through auction as part of lot 107 at Sotheby's on 12 June 1997 as part of the Erlenmeyer Collection; deposited on offer 29/7/04 (deposit book number 636); date of registration assigned on the basis of date of payment.
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- 2004,0903.1
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: 20 (Arabic numerals, repeated as "20"; presumed dealer's stock number)