A Decorated Persian Clay Bowl, Tepe Giyan, ca. 1600 - 1200 BC:

Vessel decoration during the 2nd millennium BC mostly appeared on fine art rather than utilitarian vessels, the latter being to numerous to make decoration worthwhile. This large example, of buff-colored earthenware, features a richly painted geometric diamond net motif around the cylindrical body.

For a related example, see Sothebys London 27 March 1972, lot 62.

Background: The origins of the Western ceramic tradition can be traced back to the Near East. While most Near Eastern cultures produced ceramic beyond utilitarian function at some point, Iran had had the longest and most dynamic tradition that spanned at least five thousand years. Nearby Mesopotamia moved on from ceramics as a fine art form in the fourth millennium BC, contrasting Iran who produced artistic ceramic well into the second millennium BC and marking themselves as one of the greatest ceramic achievements throughout history.

Ref: Kawami, Trudy S. "Ancient Iranian Ceramics from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections." New York: The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1992.

Dimensions: Height: 6 inches (15.24 cm), Width: 6 1/2 inches (16.51 cm)

Reference No: MP1806

PROVENANCE:
The Hauge Collection of Ancient & Iranian Art, assembled between 1962 and 1966. Foreign service brothers, Victor and Osborne Hauge, together with their wives Takako and Gratia, assembled their collection of Persian, Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian works of fine and folk art while stationed overseas with the US government after WWII. In consultation with academics and dealers, the Hauges assembled over two decades of what former Freer Gallery of Art director Harold Stern described in 1957 as "without doubt one of the finest private collections in the world". Victor and Takako published Folk Traditions in Japanese Art to coincide with a traveling exhibition held from 1978 at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Japan House Gallery, New York; and Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Much of their collection was donated to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute culminating in an exhibition and published catalogue in 2000. The balance of the collection, including this object, was inherited by descent in 2016.


OUR GUARANTEE:
We hereby certify the above item to be authentic and due diligence conducted to ensure stated provenance. We strictly adhere to the code of Conduct established by the Association of Dealers & Collectors of Ancient & Ethnographic Art and have established, to the best of our ability, the object(s) have not been illegally obtained from the country of origin, excavation, architectural monument, public institution or private property. A Certificate of Authenticity is provided with every object.

Intact and in very good condition overall.