North Mesopotamian pottery jug with Cypriot style bird painting
W205£450.00
Available
A pottery jug with a bridged spout and single handle painted with bichrome decoration. Either side of the shoulder is painted in the freefield technique with a figure of a bird; the belly, spout and neck are painted with horizontal bands. The bridge of the spout is decorated with two applied and pierced pellets to form stylised eyes. The base of the handle is painted with a triangular design with lobed points.
The bird decoration is clearly linked to Cypriot pottery though the shape of the vessel is very different and closer to pottery forms from North Eastern Mesopotamia rather than the Mediterranean shoreline. The pierced pellet eye decoration is common throughout the Near East. Although geographically separate, vibrant trading across the Levant and Mesopotamia influenced pottery decoration in both directions. Philistine bichrome beer vessels from the Levant also show influences from Cyprus as well as the Near East and carry similar bird decoration to this example.
Culture
North East Mesopotamia, c. 10th to 8th Century BC
Size
20.2 x 17 cms
Condition
Intact with surface wear as seen in the photographs
Provenance
Ex. private collection, London, UK; acquired on the art market in the 1990’s.