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Beaker with Ibex MotifsBeaker with ibex motifs © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY

Beaker with Ibex Motifs

Susa, Iran. 4200–3500 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta.

Curator Note

"A handmade clay beaker decorated with stylized animals. It was found in a cemetery, indicating its use in funerary practices."

Form

  • Hand-thrown on a slow wheel, showing early technological advancement in pottery.
  • Painted terra cotta with thin, fragile walls (not meant for daily utilitarian use).
  • Highly stylized, geometric abstraction of animals rather than naturalistic representation.
  • Use of registers (horizontal bands) and lines to organize the composition and create rhythm.
  • Balanced, linear design that emphasizes the vessel's cylindrical shape.

Function

  • Funerary object buried with the dead in the Susa necropolis (secondary burial context).
  • Marker of clan identity, status, or wealth in the afterlife.
  • Container for offerings (grains, food) to sustain the deceased.
  • Symbolic representation of the orderly cosmos and the natural world controlled by man.
  • The fragile nature suggests it was made specifically for burial, not for daily use.

Content

  • Central motif: A mountain goat (ibex) composed of two triangles, with exaggerated, arching horns enclosing a clan symbol.
  • Top register: A row of stretched-out aquatic birds with long necks, emphasizing verticality.
  • Middle register: Running hunting dogs (greyhounds) stretched horizontally to suggest speed and motion.
  • A criss-cross pattern within the circle of the horns likely represents a family crest or clan insignia.
  • Integration of ground lines defining the space for the animals.

Context

  • Excavated at the acropolis of Susa, Iran, a major settlement that later became a capital of the Elamite/Persian empires.
  • Created during the Susa I period (4200–3500 B.C.E.), marking the transition to urban living.
  • Reflects the start of specialized labor (potters) and social stratification.
  • Found in a massive cemetery with thousands of similar vessels, indicating organized funerary practices.
  • Susa was a trading hub; the quality of the ceramic implies a wealthy society.