Object Details
- Label
- The smooth, lustrous surface of this vessel illustrates two common methods of decorating ceramic vessels in ancient Iran. Surfaces of pots were frequently covered with a slip, a fluid suspension of clay in water that is applied before firing to produce a thin coating. Made from red clay containing iron-rich pigments, slips produced red, red-brown, or black surfaces, depending on firing conditions. Often the slip was burnished before firing to produce a glossy surface. Burnishing consists of smoothing the surface of the pot with a simple tool such as a pebble when the vessel is dry and leather-hard. In addition to its desired decorative effects, burnishing also compacted the surface of the vessel and made it less permeable.
- Provenance
- ?-2005
- Mr. and Mrs. Osborne (1914-2004) and Gratia Hauge (d. 2000) [1]
- From 2005
- The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by gift of Osborne and Gratia Hauge, and Victor and Takako Hauge [2]
- Notes:
- [1] The Hauge family began collecting Asian paintings, sculpture, and ceramics in the late 1940s and would amass a large collection in the post-World War II years.
- [2] Ownership of collected objects sometimes changed between members of the Hauge families. See Deed of Gift, dated October 16, 2005, copy in object file. From 2005-2023 the work was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.
- Collection
- National Museum of Asian Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Asian Traditions in Clay: The Hauge Gifts (October 29, 2000 to April 22, 2001)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Mr. and Mrs. Osborne and Gratia Hauge
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- ca. 1400-800 BCE
- Period
- Iron Age I - II
- Credit Line
- Gift of Osborne and Gratia Hauge
- Medium
- Earthenware
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 17.3 x 26 x 24.7 cm (6 13/16 x 10 1/4 x 9 3/4 in)
- Type
- Vessel
