The Bushel with ibex motifs, or beaker with ibex motifs, is a prehistoric pottery art work originating from

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

, an important city in the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

, located in modern-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The piece is thought to have been made during the Susa I period, sometime between 4200 and 3500 BCE. The beaker, made using painted terra cotta, is a large vessel with its dimensions listed at 28.90 x 16.40 cm. It was a funerary item among the first inhabitants of Susa. The bushel has been identified as an example of the sources or ancestors of

animal style Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration was us ...

. This style is a decorative approach in art with an emphasis on animal motifs. Accordingly, the beaker itself has various animal motifs; the upper register of the beaker is filled long-necked birds, thought to be a kind of wading water bird seen in the region's plains during the winter. The next register features reclining dogs, thought to be of a

saluki The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was origin ...

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

type, which are hunting dogs typical of the region. Most notably, however, below these dogs are the ibex, or mountain goat, motifs seen on the beaker. The goat is native to the Zagros Mountain range near Susa. The ibex is portrayed in a non-naturalistic way, with the use of simple shapes, such as triangles. The horns of the goat arch back over itself, forming a circle over its body. The roundness of the horns and the other various geometric elements of the beaker, have been noted to speak to its cylindrical shape. The beaker was discovered during a 1906–1908 excavation of a Susian necropolis led by Jacques de Morgan. It is currently located in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

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. The museum has recognized that "relatively few beakers from the Susa cemetery match this one in style or quality of craftsmanship."

References

{{Portal bar, Asia, History, Visual arts 1906 archaeological discoveries 1906 in Iran 4th-millennium BC works 5th-millennium BC works Archaeological discoveries in Iran Birds in art Dogs in art Goats in art Iranian pottery Near East and Middle East antiquities of the Louvre Prehistoric art Susa