Clay; fired and painted
6000–5000 BCE
Iraq, West Asia
The British Museum
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Halaf Culture
Theme
Agriculture and Surplus
Subtheme
Surplus and the Road to City-States
Case Title
Patterns of prestige
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Arpachiyah, Iraq
Measurements
5 x (dia) 15 cm
Accession Number
1934,0210.82
Description
Eight thousand years ago, fragile, expensive and beautifully decorated hand-thrown bowls like this were widely traded as prestige objects across northern Mesopotamia. Here, the central rosette has seven
stippled petals. The paint, originally red, has darkened during the firing process. Inside and outside are decorated with a repeating wave or intertwining patterns. Possibly borrowed from baskets or textiles,
these could represent the cycles of nature, and suggest the land or water-scapes of early farming communities.
Curators Comments
The clay vessels displayed in this exhibition—from Japan, China, India, Iraq, and Sudan—represent approximately 5,000 years of pottery. These are works of art, made for everyday use.
