Sherd
Unknown Artist
ca. 1st century CE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
2 3/16 × 1 15/16 × 1/8 in. (5.6 × 5 × 0.3 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Vessels
Culture & Period
Nabataean · Nabataean
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of H. Dunscombe Colt, 1952
Accession Number
52.129.4
Art Historical Context
This delicate ceramic sherd, dating to around the 1st century, offers a glimpse into the daily life of the Nabataean, an ancient Arab kingdom renowned for its thriving caravan trade routes across the deserts of modern-day Jordan and surrounding regions. Measuring just 2 3/16 × 1 15/16 × 1/8 inches, this thin fragment likely comes from a larger vessel used for storage, transport, or serving—common in Nabataean households and commerce. As part of the Metropolitan Museum Art's Ancient Near Eastern collection, gifted by H. Dunscombe Colt in 1952, it exemplifies the practical artistry of a culture ...