Bowl

Unknown

ca. 3rd–1st century BCE · Ceramic · Ancient Near Eastern Art

This bowl has a flat base, gently sloping sides and an outturned rim. It is made of a red clay with mottled smoke patterns on the interior and exterior, an accidental side effect of the firing process. It was excavated at Yarim Tepe in northeastern Iran, six miles south of the modern town of Gonbad-e Kavus. Yarim Tepe was a small settlement, inhabited from the Neolithic to the Parthian period, with many interruptions. Bowls with similar shapes were discovered at Shahr-i Qumis in northern Iran, believed to be the site of the Parthian capital Hecatompylos.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 3rd–1st century BCE

Medium

Ceramic

Culture

Parthian

Department

Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit line

Purchase, H. Dunscombe Colt Gift, 1963