Nabataean Terracotta Plate

Culture: Nabataean

Period: 3rd-1st century B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 17.5 cm in diameter

Price: Sold

Ref: 6426

Provenance: From an old English private collection, acquired prior to 1988.

Condition: Reassembled from three shards without any missing part.

Description: High-quality, extremely thin plate of red clay as found near the Nabataean capital city of Petra. The rim is inwardly rounded. Also typical for the Nabataean ceramic is the black paint with floral motives. The limitation to these floral motives is based on aniconism, the ban on depicting the supernatural, divine world in the Nabatean religion. This plate depicts grapes in form of beads, palmettes and triangles. Nabataean ceramic was used throughout in daily life and not for ceremonial purposes, therefore there are often only single shards and rarely complete vessels such as the present one preserved.