Spouted vessel
This vessel has a globular body and a ring base. The remains of a spout and a handle are present on the body; the rim is not preserved at all. The vessel is made of buff clay on potter’s wheel, with the handle and spout added later. It is decorated with a vine pattern in red paint. The vessel was excavated at Tepe Nush-i Jan, an Iron Age hilltop site about 60 km sound of Hamadan in western Iran. Nush-i Jan is generally associated with the Medes, an Iranian people known from Assyrian, Achaemenid and Biblical sources. However, the site was evidently reoccupied in the Parthian period, probably between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., to period to which this vessel dates.
This vessel most likely served as a pitcher for pouring a liquid containing dregs, such as wine, since the round body and long spout would prevent the dregs from ending up in the cup. The vine pattern decoration certainly suggests a connection with. Long-spouted pitchers have a long history in Iran, going back to the late 2nd millennium B.C. This shape in particular closely resembles pitchers excavated from the Iron Age cemetery at Tepe Sialk, near Kashan. This vessel thus illustrates the continuity of Iron Age ceramic traditions down into the Parthian era.
This vessel most likely served as a pitcher for pouring a liquid containing dregs, such as wine, since the round body and long spout would prevent the dregs from ending up in the cup. The vine pattern decoration certainly suggests a connection with. Long-spouted pitchers have a long history in Iran, going back to the late 2nd millennium B.C. This shape in particular closely resembles pitchers excavated from the Iron Age cemetery at Tepe Sialk, near Kashan. This vessel thus illustrates the continuity of Iron Age ceramic traditions down into the Parthian era.
Artwork Details
- Title: Spouted vessel
- Period: Parthian
- Date: ca. 1st century BCE–1st century CE
- Geography: Iran, Tepe Nush-i Jan
- Culture: Parthian
- Medium: Ceramic
- Dimensions: 2 x 3 in. (5.08 x 7.62 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, H. Dunscombe Colt Gift, 1969
- Object Number: 69.24.15
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Sasanian
ca. 5th century CE
Achaemenid
ca. 5th century BCE
Proto-Elamite
ca. 3100–2900 BCE
ca. 4000–3600 BCE
Iran
ca. 9th century BCE
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.