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Beak-spouted vessel with a warrior and a lion

Near Eastern, Iranian
Iron Age
9th–7th century B.C.
Findspot: Iran, Tepe Sialk, cemetery B

Medium/Technique Painted pottery
Dimensions Height 7 width (at spout): 19.05 x 30.16 cm (7 1/2 x 11 7/8 in.)
Credit Line John H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund
Accession Number1971.402
ClassificationsVessels

DescriptionPainted pottery vessel with globular body and a long, beak-shaped spout opposite the handle. Decorated in red paint: on the belly, figures of a lion and a warrior with lance and shield, separated by a geometric band around the spout made up of a row of hatched rectangles and diamonds surrounded by a "feather" pattern of triangles. In the open field around the figures are eight-petaled rosettes. The spout is painted solid red. Many vessels of this type were found in the Iron Age cemetery at the fortified town of Tepe Sialk. Most are covered with animals and geometric patterns that may imitate textiles. This particular vessel is rare in depicting a warrior.
ProvenanceBy 1962: Kofler-Truniger collection, Lucerne, Switzerland; purchased by the MFA from Ernst E. Kofler, Lucerne, November 10, 1971.
(Accession date: November 10, 1971)