Object Description
A finely modelled Luristan terracotta jug featuring a flattened base, a wide body narrowing into a long neck, and a wide, everted rim. A looped handle extends from the shoulder to the neck, mirroring the beaked spout on the other side, which resembles the profile of a crane. The stylised spout displays a ridged protrusion below, with a spur in the form of a bird’s head embellishing the top, a characteristic of Luristan practice. Two ridges run across the rim and the neck, on which a herringbone pattern is sensitively incised.
During the Iron Age II-III in Iran, pottery and metal vessels, with a long, beaked spout, are usually defined as ‘beaker’. Luristan spouted jar, ornamented with zoomorphic terminals and a quadruped handles, were imitations of their metal counterparts. Pottery vessels of such a type, during the Iron Age Iran, often feature small pellets around the handle area, reminiscent of the repoussé technique that was frequently applied on metal wares of the same period. Zoomorphic vessels, such as this fine example, were clearly designed as a pouring vessel, but they might have been also used in particular funerary ritual occasions.
Date: Circa 1st -8th century BC