Tall earthenware pear-shaped jug, with mould-made upper body and wheel-made lower body on a short integrated foot; medium-height cylindrical neck which tapers slightly to just above midpoint before widening again; pinched lobed mouth with series of transverse ribs; strap almost rectangular handle, with thumb guard. The body is richly decorated and divided into two halves, partly by the position of the handle and partly by a band of small rosettes in high-relief that runs from the shoulder to the seam. The sections which are thus created consist of a triangular register, framed and divided centrally by tripartite motif of leaves, hatching and concentric circles; rosettes and hatching within each of the four sub-registers. The handle is adorned by the figure of a standing-up serpent in relief, below a cluster of four spear-shaped leaves. Wheel-made lines are visible all the way to the groundline.
The motif of rosette appears frequently in both Byzantine and Sassanian pre- Islamic art, but, is likely to have been transmitted by Late Antique and Byzantine sources in the west. Decorative cast or repousse working on metal objects most likely inspired the relief work seen here. Additional worked-in techniques include cut ornamentation and hatching, mimicking glass, metal and wood decoration. The pinched spout seems a very obvious way of making a pouring lip from a neck of soft clay, but this particular form may well be inspired by vessels of sown leather. Fragments of similar vessels have been excavated at Susa and have been attributed, given the elaborate applique decoration to 12th-13th centuries. If there was a comparison to be made, between this piece and the aforementioned earlier examples, then one would get an idea of the evolution of a very distinct artistic vocabulary. Iran or Central Asia, 10th – 12th century. - (LO.672)