Terracotta Vessel in the Form of a Camel, 7th Century CE - 9th Century CE
Earthenware
11.7 x 20.1 cm
4 5/8 x 7 7/8 in
4 5/8 x 7 7/8 in
JB.1194
Further images
This very charming vessel in the shape of a camel comes from the Middle East. Though the animal itself was, and of course still is, prolific in the Middle East;...
This very charming vessel in the shape of a camel comes from the Middle East. Though the animal itself was, and of course still is, prolific in the Middle East; depictions of it in ancient art are rare. It is particularly delightful to see represented an animal that was so important to a people and typical of their cultural landscape.
Diodorus of Sicily, who describes the way of life of the Nabataeans in the 4th century BCE, says that “some raise camels, others sheep, pasturing them in the desert” (19.94.4, transl. Bizière 1975). In the second half of the 1st century BCE, Strabo says that their “country produces no horses” and that “camels afford the service they require instead of horses” (transl. Jones 1932).
Bibliography: NEHMÉ, Laïla. The camel in the Nabataean realm In: Les vaisseaux du désert et des steppes: Les camélidés dans l’Antiquité (Camelus dromedarius et Camelus bactrianus)
Diodorus of Sicily, who describes the way of life of the Nabataeans in the 4th century BCE, says that “some raise camels, others sheep, pasturing them in the desert” (19.94.4, transl. Bizière 1975). In the second half of the 1st century BCE, Strabo says that their “country produces no horses” and that “camels afford the service they require instead of horses” (transl. Jones 1932).
Bibliography: NEHMÉ, Laïla. The camel in the Nabataean realm In: Les vaisseaux du désert et des steppes: Les camélidés dans l’Antiquité (Camelus dromedarius et Camelus bactrianus)