Vessel in the Form of a Deer

Place of OriginProbably Iran

Date250 BCE - 225 CE

Dimensions6 3/4 × 3 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (17.1 × 8.9 × 14 cm)

MediumPainted terracotta (earthenware)

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1962.25

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionHollow ceramic vessel modeled in the form of a deer with an elongated neck and upright ears. The spout is integrated into the back of the animal. The surface is mottled, likely due to slip-painting, and contains traces of a black substance inside. There is some white residue on the surface, possibly slip decoration. Microscope examination found plant material inside the vessel.

Label TextThis terracotta vessel, shaped as a stylized deer, was made during the Parthian Empire, which ruled much of Iran and Mesopotamia from 247 BCE to 224 CE. The Parthians governed a vast, multicultural territory at the crossroads of East and West, controlling key routes of the Silk Road. Their art reflects this diversity, blending local Iranian, Hellenistic, and Mesopotamian influences into new visual forms. Parthian potters developed a distinctive tradition of zoomorphic ceramics—vessels shaped like animals—which combined functional design with symbolic meaning.Published ReferencesLakofsky, Charles. Pottery, Dubuque, Iowa, Wm. C. Brown Company, 1968, fig. 70, p. 72.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Sept Mille Ans d'Art en Iran, (exhibition), Petit Palais, October 1961 to January 1962, pp. 14, 22, 23, nos. 113, 116.