Jar
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This small jar has a bulbous body, a pronounced shoulder decorated with horizontal incised lines, a high, slightly flaring neck, and an everted rim. Three nearly identical jars were excavated at Sangtarashan, south of modern Khorramabad in Luristan in western Iran, which archaeologists have identified as a riutal site of some kind where offerings, includings these jars, were made. Two more jars were excavated at Khatunban, als in Luristan (approximately 34 miles [55 km] west of Nihavend, where Ernst Herzfeld acquired this jar). Both were found in graves along with vessels with long spouts. This pairing suggests a set of drinking vessels: a liquid would be poured from the spouted vessel into the jar, which was used as a cup -- it is about the size of a modern tumbler. It is not known what this liquid was, but wine is a good possibility. Winemaking is attested at Godin Tepe (28 miles [45 km] northeast of Khatunban) as early as ca. 3000 B.C., and the deep bodies and long spouts on the pouring vessels would have prevented dregs from ending up in the cup. These vessels were likely placed in graves because they were indicative of the deceased’s status and identity. Not everyone would have been privileged enough to own or use a bronze cup, let alone be buried with one; most people would have had to make do with ceramic vessels.
Ancient Near Eastern Art
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met's Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art cares for approximately 7,000 works ranging in date from the eighth millennium B.C. through the centuries just beyond the emergence of Islam in the seventh century A.D. Objects in the collection were created by people in the area that today comprises Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean coast, Yemen, and Central Asia. From the art of some of the world's first cities to that of great empires, the department's holdings illustrate the beauty and craftsmanship as well as the profound interconnections, cultural and religious diversity, and lasting legacies that characterize the ancient art of this vast region.