Jar

This biconical jar has been reconstructed from several pieces. It has a flat base and a straight rim. It is made of a buff clay, possibly using a slow wheel, and is decorated with a red slip. It was excavated at Tall-i Nokhodi, a prehistoric site in southwestern Iran occupied during the fourth and third millennia B.C. Excavations have been limited in scope, but the presence of ovens there suggest it was a small settlement. Metal finds from the site, including a cast bronze axe head, indicate a precious metalworking industry there, one which prefigures the magnificent and extensive bronzeworking of the neighboring Elamites in centuries to come.

This jar was excavated in 1961 by the British Institute of Persian Studies. However, the Met acquired it in 1978 as a result of its financial contributions to the Institute’s excavations at Tepe Nush-i Jan, another site in Iran. At the time the Iranian government allowed foreign excavators to keep a portion of the finds, and these excavators in turn would divide their share among the institutions that supported the work.