Large Cup Decorated with Stylized Mountain Goats and Birds
900-700
Physical Qualities
Earthenware with brown decoration on white slip, 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm.) H
Credit Line
Decorative Arts Fund
Object Number
1957.325
Sialk was the site of a fortified town on a hill in present-day central Iran. A large cemetery, explored by archaeologists between 1933 and 1937, was located several hundred yards from the town. The grave pits contained jewelry, weapons, leather armor, horse trappings, and ceramic vessels, including many cups like this one. The cups were possibly used in funerary banquets or rituals before being placed in the grave and show the importance of drinking for Sialk’s inhabitants both living and dead.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1957; H. Motamed Persian Arts and Antiques, New York
Collection installation, "Asia. Offering Options," Levy Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 5, 2023-
On View at the BMA
