Ancient Near East, southwestern Jordan, Petra, Nabataean peoples, ca. end of 1st millennia BCE. A stunning, wheel-thrown pottery cup from the Petra region, one of the oldest and most well-preserved cities of ancient Jordan. The vessel has a concave short foot, an inverted bell-shaped body, a petite flared rim. The exterior of the body boasts an orange-red slip coloration and is covered in a thin layer of orange glaze. A repeating motif of dark meandering vines or arrows above two black below, imbuing the cup with a personalized presentation. A beautiful and exceedingly rare example of fine utilitarian ceramics from the ancient Near East! Size: 4.625" W x 3" H (11.7 cm x 7.6 cm)

The Nabataean kingdom controlled a string of oases that linked trade between southern Arabia (where many forms of incense required for religious worship were created) and the Greco-Roman and Egyptian worlds, and flourished throughout most of the 1st century CE. The Nabataean sphere of influence extended far into the Arabian Peninsula towards Yemen along the Red Sea. Its capital of Ragmu (present-day Petra) was one of the largest and most highly-frequented cosmopolitan marketplaces in the Near East, though it was only one in a string of Nabataean settlements strung out in an area with very limited resources.

There must be an amazing story how this vessel from Jordan ended up in the Drexel collection acquired in Egypt. It most certainly would have been via ancient trade routes.

Exhibited at the Drexel Museum, Philadelphia, 1895 to 1914; with the Drexel Institute Collection, Minneapolis Museum of Art, 1915 to 1958, ref. no. 16.574; at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.063.1998.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; ex-Emil Brugsch Collection, curator of the Bulaq Museum, Cairo, Egypt; Exhibited at the Drexel Museum, Philadelphia, 1895 to 1914; with the Drexel Institute Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1915 to 1958, ref. no. 16.574; at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.063.1998

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#182176

Minor chips to rim and base, pigment wear as shown.