Chalice from Tepe Hissar

Culture: Iran

Period: 4th-3rd millennium B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 15.1 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 6464

Provenance: French private collection Magloire, acquired in the late 1970s to the early 1980s.

Condition: Intact

Description: Large footed cup of light, yellowish clay with brown paint from the Northern Iranian tell Tepe Hissar. Typical for the ceramic is the depiction of strong wild animals, such as the leopards recognizable by their spotted fur and long tail, which are painted to the right below the rim. Notably interesting is that the five leopards are interrupted by the depiction of a snake. The decoration is applied in numerous registers. Below the frieze of leopards with a snake are brown bands, followed below by an encircling, wavy band with thin stripes. Below again a band decoration, then three rows of diligently painted lozenges, their inside painted with fine lines. The cup has a biconical form and stands on a foot ring, the bottom is curved inwards. The rim of the vessel is slightly pulled outside. See for the ceramic from Tepe Hissar “Iran – Frühe Kulturen zwischen Wasser und Wüste”, Bonn 2017, page 69f.