MALE FIGURE HOLDING A SPOUTED JAR
Earthenware with red painted decorationFirst half of the 1st millennium BC
Luristan Region, Iran
Height: 39.4cm Width: 18.4cm
Gift of Ms. Takada Sanae (Accession No. 02351)
The male figure holding a spouted jar at his chest has his face colored with red pigment. There are four holes on top of his head and the eyes, ears, nose and mouth are also perforated. The seemingly naked body actually shows traces of clothes drawn in red pigment and he even wears a necklace and pointed shoes, which are also painted. There are examples of spouted jars in bronze and earthenware, and the spouted jar in this work is reproduced accurately, paying attention to every detail. The perforated interior of the jar is connected to the hollowed body. This distinct form and structure suggest that this work is representing a particular scene of a festival or a ceremony, although the use is unknown. It can be surmised from the clay material as well as the form and motif of the spouted jar that this work was produced in the Luristan region situated in the Zagros mountain range in western Iran.