Iran _ Amlash
Gilan civilisation, 1250 – 800 BCE
Grey baked clay
25.2 x 11.5 x 19.5 cm LWH
Assembled from fragments

This pouring vessel is also a typical example of the Gilan zebu-vessels, although the body of the animal depicted here is less dynamically shaped than is usually the case. This animal therefore appears somewhat more heavy-handed than the previous example. While the zebu-shaped vessel cat. no. 1 is founded on a sweeping circular form, the ox askos here emphasises the horizontal and vertical lines instead. This is not only visible in the execution of the body, but also in the upright horns and the fat hump. Few details are present. The ox’s head is also shaped to form a beaked spout that served as an opening for pouring liquids in or out. The vessel is hollow with the exception of the extremely short, thickset legs and the horns

André Wiese, 2011

Literature
Kunstwerke der Antike. Cahn Auktionen AG, Auktionskatalog Basel 22. September 2006, Calbe 2006, 37 no. 63. E.O. Negahban, Marlik. The Complete Excavation Report, The University Museum Monograph 87, 2 vols., Philadelphia PA 1996, 116–122 plates 36–38 nos. 83–99. Paradeisos. Frühe Tierbilder aus Persien aus der Sammlung Elisabeth und Peter Suter-Dürsteler, exhibition catalogue Basel, Basel 1992, 62f. no. 15. T.S. Kawami, Ancient Iranian Ceramics from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York 1992, 135f. no. 49. W. Seipel (ed.), 7000 Jahre persische Kunst. Meisterwerke aus dem Iranischen Nationalmuseum in Teheran, exhibition catalogue Basel, Vienna 2003, 156f. no. 83. M. Guggisberg, Frühgriechische Tierkeramik. Zur Entwicklung und Bedeutung der Tiergefäße und der hohlen Tierfiguren in der späten Bronze- und frühen Eisenzeit  (ca. 1600–700 v.Chr.), Mainz 1996, 341–345. Stiftung DKM, Iran _ Amlash, Duisburg, 2011, 24 – 25, cat. no. 2.