Vessel in the Form of a Doe

Place of OriginIran, likely Amlash

Date1000-900 BCE

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 compact ceramic container takes the form of a deer with alert ears and a spout emerging from its back. Likely made in the Iron Age around 1000–800 BCE in the Gilan region of modern Iran, it reflects a long tradition of animal-form vessels. These works, often found in funerary or ritual contexts, were shaped by hand and painted with slip before firing. A black plant-like residue discovered inside the vessel during conservation hints at possible ceremonial use. Though attributed to Amlash, an exact Iranian findspot is unverified.Published References

Lakofsky, Charles, Pottery, Dubuque, 1968, repr., 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.