Near Eastern Spouted Bowl
Near Eastern Spouted Bowl
This hemispherical vessel is provided, near the lip, with a horizontal, perfectly cylindrical spout. It is simply decorated.
2nd millenium B.C., 3rd millenium B.C.
D: 8.4 cm
In stock
Product Description
This hemispherical vessel is provided, near the lip, with a horizontal, perfectly cylindrical spout. It is simply decorated with a frieze of zigzag pattern in relief. Despite its reduced size, this vessel is outstanding for its technical precision: all the details of the shape and decoration were carefully executed. Such a high degree of accuracy indicates that the carver would have used a rotating technique, probably employing some sort of spinner and/or a tool similar to a drill. The vessel was finally smoothed and polished with emery or sand.
In the Neolithic period already, stone vessels had a key role in the Near Eastern economies, since they can be found almost everywhere (from Egypt to the Mesopotamian, Iranian or Bactrian worlds), in many shapes, for varied uses, in various dimensions and stones.
As it is often the case in such remote periods and for cultures preceding the invention of writing, the exact purpose of this object remains unclear, also it is thought to have been used in the domestic or ritual sphere, for the precise pouring of precious liquids.
