Vessel in the shape of a bull
Place of Originprobably Amlash, Northern Iran; probably Amlash
Dateapprox. 900-800 BCE
MaterialsEarthenware
DimensionsH. 12 1/2 in x W. 13 3/4 in x D. 6 7/8 in, H. 31.7 cm x W. 34.9 cm x D. 17.4 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB62P87
DepartmentWest Asian Art
ClassificationsCeramics
On View
On viewLocation
Text Entries- Gallery Location Gallery 7
Like the other objects nearby, this vessel probably held a liquid used for some ceremony rather than for everyday use. The animals themselves may have had ritual or religious significance. Because so many similar examples come from graves, researchers think that they may have been produced for funerary rites or strictly for burials.
Here the head and mouth of a bull act as the spout. The bull’s hump is shaped into a wide-mouthed vessel with two rams’ head “handles,” into which the liquid would have been poured. Note the straight horns of the bull and the curling horns of the rams.
Subject
- bull
approx. 900-800 BCE
approx. 900-800 BCE
approx. 900-800 BCE
approx. 900-800 BCE
probably 1200-800 BCE
approx. 900-800 BCE
1200-800 BCE
Iron Age II (Iran) (1200-800 BCE)
approx. 1400-900 BCE
Iron Age II (Iran) (1200-800 BCE)
Iron Age I (Iran) (1400-1200 BCE)
approx. 250 BCE-200 CE