Plate and cup
Unknown Artist
mid 6th–5th millennium BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
3 11/16 × 3 5/8 × 3 5/8 in. (9.3 × 9.2 × 9.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Vessels
Culture & Period
Ubaid · Ubaid
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, by exchange, 1949
Accession Number
49.133.7
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Ancient Near Eastern Art collection, delicate ceramic "Plate and cup" dates to the mid-6th to 5th millennium BCE, hailing from the Uba culture in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Measuring just under 4 inches across, this small vessel exemplifies the ingenuity of one of the world's earliest urban precursors. Crafted by an unknown artist, it reflects the Ubaid people's transition from nomadic life to settled farming communities along the fertile rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates. Ubaid ceramics mark a pivotal advancement in prehistoric techno...