Description:
This is a magnificent, very large and heavy Amlash burnished grey ware vessel, dating to circa 1200 - 900 BC. The vessel is decorated with two striped rings around the mouth, which seem to imitate ropes. The long spout consists of a U shaped channel, and is decorated at the base with what is probably the head of a horned goat, but has also been explained as the head of a bird. There is a single handle with a raised pellet at the back.
As is more often the case with objects from the Amlash region, there is an abstract, almost modern feel to it. Scholars have compared such objects to art works created by artists in the twentieth century (Ghirshman 1962, p. 60), in particular Picasso (Gabus 1965, p. 3; idem 1967, pl. IV).
In this case, when seen in profile, the vessel resembles a graceful abstract bird, with the spout representing a long beak and curving neck, and the vessel itself being the body of the bird.
Vessels with such a long spout were probably used for ritually pouring liquids in religious ceremonies, in particular in burial rites (Loukonine 1996, nos. 2, 4; especially found in burial sites: Vanden Berghe 1959, p. 123), although not much about the rituals is known. The long spout made it possible to direct the jet of the liquid.
The ancient authenticity of the vessel was confirmed by a thermoluminescence test.
Literature:
Roman Ghirshman, “Notes Iraniennes XI. Le Rhyton en Iran”, Artibus Asiae, volume 25, no. 1 (1962), p. 57-80;
Jean Gabus - Mahdi Mahboubian, Amlach. Exposition d’art Amlach (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles, novembre-décembre 1965);
Jean Gabus – Roger-Louis Junod, Art Amlach (Payot Lausanne) (Orbis Pictus, volume 44) (Berne, Editions Hallwag, 1967);
L. Vanden Berghe, Archéologie de l’Iran Ancien (Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1959);
Vladimir Loukonine – Anatoli Ivanov, Persian Art (Bornemouth, Parkstone Press; St. Petersburg, Aurora Art Publishers, 1996).
Dating:
Circa 1200 - 900 B.C.
Size:
Height 25.4 cm, length 35.6 cm.
Provenance:
Collection of Dr. Paul Vignos Jr., Ohio, acquired in the 1960s. Dr. Vignos (1919-2010) was a leading rheumatologist, and a trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Orchestra. Several endowed positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and University Hospitals bear his name.
Condition:
Intact with some surface wear, pitting and other minor damage; some roughness to the spout, suggesting that this may have been broken and has been repaired, but this is far from certain since a restorer during inspection of the vessel could not find any repair; two small drill holes, made when samples were taken for the TL test; an old label attached underneath.
SOLD
Stock number:
A0777