Wit & Wine: A New Look at Ancient Iranian Ceramics
From the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation
23 February - 19 May 2002
See Also: Teacher's Guide
Wit and Wine: A New Look at Ancient Iranian Ceramics, from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, is the first major exhibition of ancient Iranian ceramics in over a decade. The exhibition features 45 extraordinary pieces that illustrate the 5,000-year ceramic tradition that flourished in ancient, pre-Islamic, Iran until 100 BCE.
THE EXHIBITION
The beautiful, technically sophisticated, and often-amusing ceramics of ancient Iran demonstrate a rich yet little known tradition comparable to pre-Columbian, Chinese and Greek achievements, establishing ancient Iranian pottery as one of the great ceramic traditions.
The jugs, jars, beakers and spouted and shaped vessels in the exhibition were used for holding, pouring and drinking liquids, especially wine. Wit and Wine explores how ancient Iranian potters made and decorated these vessels with high quality of craftsmanship and design, and often with a unique sense of humor. Many pieces are shaped like animals or are painted with animal motifs. Interpretations of wild and domesticated animals show elegant deer, powerful rams and amusing goats. Some pieces were created to serve specific functions, such as cosmetic containers, some vessels were made to look like metal, and others are purely sculptural forms.
Included in the exhibition are an extraordinary ceramic head and neck of a bull, a vessel in the form of a seated camel, a stag-head rhyton (drinking horn), a vessel with a deer's head spout, a vessel in the form of a stag, a spouted vessel in the shape of a bull, and a delightful vessel with two feet. Some examples are provided below. (click image for a larger view of the item)
 HEAD AND NECK OF BULL 1000-600 BC. Height - 12.875 inches |
 GLOBULAR JAR 1000-650 BC. Height - 13.5 inches |
 SPOUTED VESSEL WITH HANDLE AND PAINTED DECORATION 800-600 BC. Height - 8.5 inches |
 SPOUTED VESSEL IN THE FORM OF A BULL 1200-800 BC. Height - 11.125 inches |
 BEAKER WITH GOATS Ca. 3500 BC. Height - 6.31 inches. Wild bezoar goats, which live in the highland regions of Iran, are probably the animals depicted here. The meaning of the "skidding" posture is unknown |
 BOOT-SHAPED DRINKING CUP 800-600 BC. Height - 12.25 inches. Drinking from this cup requires care. If tipped the wrong way, liquid remains briefly in the toe, and then splatters the drinker's face |
 STAG-HEAD RHYTON 1000-550 BC. Height - 13.25 inches. The owner of this vessel was probably a successful hunter and ruler |
 SPOUTED STAG VESSEL 1000-550 BC. Height - 12 inches. Both the large red deer and the smaller roe deer still inhabit northern Iran, the likely place of origin of this vessel. In many ancient cultures, deer represented virility and agility |
 CAMEL VESSEL 250 BC-AD 224. Height - 8.25 inches. Camels were vitally important on the trade routes which crossed Iran. The famed Silk Road made possible the flow of goods between China and Europe for hundreds of years |
 TWIN-SPOUTED VESSEL 250-100 BC. Height - 13.125 inches. The handles are shaped like mountain goats. The twin spouts are at the bottom of the vessel, so the server had to use a finger of each hand to cover the spout and release it when pouring |
  VESSEL WITH TWO HUMAN-LIKE FEET AND TWO HANDLES. 1000-800 BC. Height - 19 inches |
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