Collection
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Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Tray with Bird Heads

1st millennium B.C.E

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Photograph courtesy of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York

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Object Label

Ancient Iranian Ceramics

These ceramics demonstrate ancient Iranian artists’ interest in creating containers and other ritual instruments in the shape of mammals or birds. This tradition was of incredible duration, stretching back to about 3000 B.C.E. of the Neolithic period and lasting as late as the sixth century C.E. These shapes relate Iranian art to the customs of neighboring regions of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Central Asia where animal art also played an integral role.

Caption

Tray with Bird Heads, 1st millennium B.C.E. Clay, 4 7/16 x 11 5/16 x 6 1/8 in. (11.3 x 28.8 x 15.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, NYC, in memory of James F. Romano, 2015.65.24. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.65.24_PS9.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Tray with Bird Heads

Date

1st millennium B.C.E

Geography

Place made: Iran

Medium

Clay

Classification

Container

Dimensions

4 7/16 x 11 5/16 x 6 1/8 in. (11.3 x 28.8 x 15.6 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, NYC, in memory of James F. Romano

Accession Number

2015.65.24

Rights

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.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Can you tell me how this one was made?

    This was made by joining slabs of clay together. The slabs would have first been shaped flat, in order to more easily sculpt the pointed top edge and the decorative dots along the sides. After the rectangles were joined into the basic tray shape, the bird finials were added.

  • Was this tray with bird heads decorative or did it function as something else?

    It was largely decorative. It may have held something ceremonial in a temple setting, but it wouldn't really be categorized as a "functional" object.

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