Hanging bottle with animal head ornament

Object Details

• Description

  A hanging bottle, made of buff gray/yellow earthenware. At the top of the vessel, the narrow neck widens and then narrows again, then turns out to a thin, out-turned rim with a carinated ridge and small, pierced lug handles which rise up vertically. The main body is bulbous, and tapers to a pointed hole/spout at exactly the bottom of the vessel. There is a geometric design incised on the upper shoulder and neck of the vessel, comprised of concentric registers of zig-zags. A head of a stylized animal wearing a collar, with triangular ears, oval eyes and an open mouth with a visible tongue protrudes perpendicular to the spout, the animal's mouth opening downward. The fine clay has been scraped down and slightly burnished.

  In very good-excellent condition. Two fragments have been broken off the side of the animal head and stuck back with adhesive. Scattered spalls, firing flaws, accretions.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Victor and Takako Hauge ((1919-2013) and (1923-2015))

• Provenance

  From at least 1965 to 1998

  Mr. and Mrs. Victor Hauge [1]

  From 1998

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Hauge in 1998

  Notes:

  [1] Object record.

  Acquired in Tehran.

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Gift of Victor and Takako Hauge

• 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.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Hauge, Victor and Takako

• Topic

  Art, Animals, Hauge collection, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Pottery

• Culture

  Iranians, Middle Easterners

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)