Artwork Page for Hittite Vessel with Four Scenes Molded and Carved in Relief

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Hittite Vessel with Four Scenes Molded and Carved in Relief

1400–1200 BCE

Eastern Turkey, Hittite

Medium
burnished earthenware
Measurements
Diameter: 51 cm (20 1/16 in.); Overall: 61 cm (24 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1985.70
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The Hittites were a powerful people who vied with the Egyptians for control of the Near East. At times, however, alliances in the form of royal marriages were forged between the two rivals. The scene on the front of this vase shows a seated god or king holding a drinking vase in the form of a stag. Near him is a large-handled vessel in a ring stand, which illustrates how large jars such as this one were used. The standing figure is a priest pouring a liquid offering. The scene on the back of this vase shows a bow hunter using a doe with a tether as a decoy to attract a stag. Some of the hunter's arrows have already pierced the stag's hide.
A reddish-brown ceramic vessel features a wide, flared rim and a body tapering to a pointed base, with four curved handles at the shoulder. Incised triangles filled with dots decorate the neck above rows of circles. Around the middle, pairs of molded, four-legged creatures face each other between bands of scrolling patterns and etched lines. The burnished earthenware surface displays a mix of geometric designs and stylized relief figures.

Hittite Vessel with Four Scenes Molded and Carved in Relief

1400–1200 BCE

Eastern Turkey, Hittite

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