Neolithic Near Eastern Small Stone Jar

This small vessel was carved from a pinkish stone, criss-crossed with reddish-brown veins: the sculptor certainly took particular care in selecting the fragment of stone to work on, so as to make the most of its natural polychromy as decoration.
Small vessels such as the one under consideration, generally of modest size, are among the most characteristic products of the craftsmanship of the Buqras region (Middle Euphrates, present-day Syria), where, during the 7th millennium BC, a Neolithic village developed, whose economy was based on livestock rearing (goats) and agriculture (wheat and barley).