Sherd
Unknown Artist
ca. 3100–2700 BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
3.09 x 3.63 in. (7.85 x 9.22 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Vessels
Period
Ninevite V
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Colt Archaeological Institute Inc. Gift, 1985
Accession Number
1985.61.1a, b
Art Historical Context
This delicate ceramic sherd, dating to around 3100–2700 BCE, offers a glimpse into the Ninevite V period of ancient northern Mesopotamia—modern-day Iraq. Measuring just 3.09 x 3.63 inches, it is a fragment of a larger vessel, unearthed from a time when early urban communities were emerging at sites like Nineveh. part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art collection it was acquired through a 1985 purchase and gift from the Colt Archaeological Institute, highlighting the role of dedicated excavations in preserving these artifacts. Sherds like this one are invaluable to ar...