VesselsIranian8th century BCE

Cylindrical Container with Lid, of "Ziwiye" Type

c. 800-700 BCE

Description

Cylindrical container with lug handles and flat, dome-shaped lid. The container is decorated with a battlement pattern outlined in turquoise and filled with yellow glaze. Spikes project from the battlement above and below, and dots embellish both the pattern itself and the spaces between the spikes. Much of the glaze beyond the central band of the decoration is lost and has been replaced by modern paint. The pierced handles are quite thick and of triangular shape. The lid is pierced at the center and bears a cross-shaped pattern outlined in turquoise and filled with yellow in two of the quadrants. There are turquoise dots in each of the segments. The glaze is largelrgely worn off in the areas that are not yellow.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Handmade

Medium

Faience, with turquoise and yellow glaze

Culture

Iranian

Period

Iron Age

Century

8th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

9.7 x 8 cm (3 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.) Dimensions of lid: 1.9 x 8 cm (3/4 x 3 1/8 in.) Dimensions of container without lid: 7.8 x 8 cm (3 1/16 x 3 1/8 in.) Maximum wall thickness of lid: 1 cm (3/8 in.) Average wall thickness of container: 0.5 cm (3/16 in.)

Provenance

[Hadji Baba Rabbi House of Antiquities, Teheran, 1972], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA, (1972-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.