Bushel with ibex motifs


The Bushel with ibex motifs, or beaker with ibex motifs, is a prehistoric pottery art work originating from Susa, an important city in the Ancient Near East, located in modern-day Iran.
The piece is thought to have been made during the Susa I period, sometime between 4200 and 3500 BCE. The beaker, made using painted terra cotta, is a large vessel with its dimensions listed at 28.90 x 16.40 cm. It was a funerary item among the first inhabitants of Susa. The bushel has been identified as an example of the sources or ancestors of animal style. This style is a decorative approach in art with an emphasis on animal motifs. Accordingly, the beaker itself has various animal motifs; the upper register of the beaker is filled long-necked birds, thought to be a kind of wading water bird seen in the region's plains during the winter. The next register features reclining dogs, thought to be of a saluki or greyhound type, which are hunting dogs typical of the region. Most notably, however, below these dogs are the ibex, or mountain goat, motifs seen on the beaker. The goat is native to the Zagros Mountain range near Susa. The ibex is portrayed in a non-naturalistic way, with the use of simple shapes, such as triangles. The horns of the goat arch back over itself, forming a circle over its body. The roundness of the horns and the other various geometric elements of the beaker, have been noted to speak to its cylindrical shape.
The beaker was discovered during a 1906–1908 excavation of a Susian necropolis led by Jacques de Morgan. It is currently located in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The museum has recognized that "relatively few beakers from the Susa cemetery match this one in style or quality of craftsmanship."