Mesopotamian Pottery

[sheshki]

The orientation of this thread is to create a pool for mesopotamian pottery.
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I want to start this thread with an amazing picture i found at OIP 63 Pottery from the Diyala Region. It is a Shoulder part of a large vase of the Proto-Literate period from Khafajah.

oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/oip/oip63.html

My hypothesis is that this design symbolizes the Sun (Utu) and Venus (Inanna). The wave-like lines are parts of the symbolism for the Sun and the lines with the black, red, and white designs stand for Inanna. Her temples were colored in the same way if I remember correctly. This picture is also reminiscent of later symbols for Utu and Inanna; they appeared combined like here for example on cylinder seals. I still try to find some information about it in that book, but it’s a bit confusing...








Shoulder of a large vase of the Proto-Literate period from Khafajah

[us4-he2-gal2]

Sheshki:



Fun little thread idea Well, above you have pointed to a very nice pottery specimen I think, although I'm afraid pottery is one of my lesser subjects when it comes to ANE studies. The study of pottery designs may actually be left more often to archeologists then those literature minded philological types, although certainly there are people from either camp discussing it somewhere.

Your question as to whether religous or theological prinicpals can be interpreted in the abstract patterns we see on the pottery is almost definitely a question that a Jacobsen or a van Buren tended to enjoy pondering over. Although I don't have such a pondering on me right now, I would say the answer to this sort of question, at least with this particular material, is almost invariably going to be "inconclusive". We should did up a commentary on it anyway though

As for the moment, I am mentioning some pottery that has always excited me - yes excited me in the undeniably geekesque sort of way. That is the pottery which contains the stylings and artistic flair of ancient Eridu itself. Somehow I have make a tattoo of it, or paint my walls with it or something. In any case, those designs, what there are of them, and which we would to imagine as arcane (but may not be able to) are available at a very accessible scholarly site which examines archaeological efforts at Abu Shahrain (the modern site of Eridu). The link as is provided at enenuru.net is:

babel.massart.edu/~tkelley/v5.0/eridu/

DAMN! 0_0 Well, no surprise, that site no longer exists! Must mean it talked about Sumer! BLEH!


Luckily I have backed some of the better images of the pottery from that site, they are Archaeologists sketchs..:

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Additionally there is some Eriduware from some other sites I've browsed:








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[sheshki]

Here are the other phantastic reconstructing paintings from OIP 63
oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/oip/oip63.html




Painted and burnished vase, one of the earliest specimens from Khafajah






Vase of the Proto Literate Period found in the first temple oval at Khafajah





Bird-Vase found in an Early Dynastic II level of the small temple at Khafajah






Four painted vases from Khafajah illustrating the transition from Jamdat-Nasr Polychrome to Scarlet-Ware






Three Scarlet-Ware vases from Early Dynastic I levels at Khafajah






Development of designs on a restored Scarlet-Ware vase from Khafajah






Restored Scarlet-Ware Vase from Tell Agrab and development of the design on the body






Restored Scarlet-Ware Vase from Tell Agrab and development of its design





One of the earliest specimens of Scarlet-Ware from Khafajah





Development of designs of vase shown above





Red painted vase of the end of Early Dynastic I from Khafajah






Two vessels from Khafajah. Above, a rare vase with fine slip and burnish from late Proto-Literate or Early Dynastic I level. Below, a painted pot of the Proto-Literate Period which indicates that in addition to red and black paint some other pigments was used for pottery decoration.





Two vessels with monochrome decorartion. Above, a vase of the Proto-Literate Period with realistic design, from the earliest shrine of the Abu Temple at Tell Asmar. Below, a bowl found in Proto-Literate level at Khafajah.





Four painted potsherds: Kh. IX 49, a unique specimen from lowest level at Khafajah; Kh. IX 198, a sherd with monochrome animal design of the Proto-Literate Period from Khafajah; Ag. 36:520 and 526, sherds with polychrome designs found in houses of Early Dynastic I at Tell Agrab.





One of the latest specimens of Scarlet-Ware from Khafajah