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Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)
Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)
Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail01.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail01.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_front_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_front_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_profile_left_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_profile_left_PS2.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_bw.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_bw.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.77_kev09.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.77_kev09.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.77_kevorkian_03_09.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.77_kevorkian_03_09.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail02.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail02.jpg)

Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail03.jpg)

Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.87.77.3_1987_xrs_detail03.jpg)

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Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Animal-shaped pottery vessels mounted on oversized wheels had a long history in the ancient Middle East. This early example has the head of a ram with curving horns. Liquid poured into the hole on top flowed out of the opening in the animal’s snout. A loop on the front allowed the attachment of a cord so that the vessel could be pulled. Such vessels have been excavated in both temples and houses. They were probably used in religious or funerary rituals.
CULTURE Mesopotamian
MEDIUM Terracotta
  • Possible Place Made: Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq, Turkey, & Syria)
    • DATES second half 3rd millenium B.C.E.
    PERIOD Early Dynastic III Period, or later
    DIMENSIONS 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 87.77
    CREDIT LINE Purchased with funds given by Shelby White
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Mesopotamian. Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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    Mesopotamian. <em>Wheeled Ram-Headed Vessel</em>, second half 3rd millenium B.C.E. Terracotta, 9 x 4 x 9 in. (22.9 x 10.2 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 87.77. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.77_threequarter_right_PS2.jpg)

    TAGS

    cart
    ancient
    terracotta
    pottery vessel
    ram
    ritual object
    Mesopotamia
    wheels

    TAGS

    cart
    ancient
    terracotta
    pottery vessel
    ram
    ritual object
    Mesopotamia
    wheels

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