Vessel in the form of a quadruped

Object Details

• Description

  Vessel in the form of a humped bull. The body is approximately barrel-shaped. A pair of crescentic horns rise up from the sides of the head, below which are eyes indicated by round perforations. The animal's mouth forms the open, troughlike spout of the vessel. The legs are thin and of relatively uniform thickness from body to foot. The surfaces of the vessel are incrusted.

• Provenance

  To 1966

  Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899-1981). [1]

  From 1966 to 1986

  Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. [2]

  From 1986

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, transferred from Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See document from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, object file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1. See also object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Metalwork and Ceramics from Ancient Iran (November 19, 1992 to January 22, 2004)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899-1981)

  Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

• Origin

  Northern Iran

• Credit Line

  Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s, BCE 1000s

• Name

  Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Hirshhorn, Joseph H.

• Topic

  Art, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Iron Age II (ca. 1250 - 800 BCE), Bulls, Iron Age I (ca. 1450 - 1250 BCE), Ceramics

• Culture

  Iranians, Middle Easterners

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)