Ancient Near East, Northwestern Iran, Amlash, ca. late 2nd to early 1st millennium BCE. A hand-built and highly burnished pottery pitcher of sizable form with an apple-shaped body, a loop handle, a squat rim, and a petite cylindrical spout. The dark exterior surfaces of the upper body are adorned with gentle linear grooves to form a dense net pattern that creates a personalized presentation. Amlash vessels were buried in large megalithic tombs, built by part of the Marlik culture. Despite its proximity to the large Mesopotamian cultures, the geographical barrier of the high Zagros and Elburz Mountains kept it relatively isolated and a very unique ceramic tradition developed there. This is an elegant example of a grave good that, based on how few graves have been found in the Amlash assemblage, seems to have been reserved only for high status individuals. Size: 11.7" Diameter x 12" H (29.7 cm x 30.5 cm)

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report will accompany the item upon purchase.

Provenance: Private Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA collection, via inheritance; Leota Furlong Agett Persian Pottery collection, acquired in Tehran, Iran in the early 1960s

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#181349

Small chips along inside of rim, with abrasions and fading to pigment commensurate with age, softening to some linear motifs, and one indentation along lower body formed during the creation process, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation to form and motifs. TL trill holes beneath base and under rim. Previous information label beneath base.