Iran, Kashan. c. 1170-1200 CE
Globular jug with spout and handle, figures with smiling faces
Fritware, with luster and opaque white and blue glaze
Gift of Elinor Lander Horwitz, class of 1950
SC 2016:29-39
At first look, this jug appears to be very impractical. The handle at the top is too close to the spout — pouring would require two hands. In addition, the spout is very small, and too close to the top opening. One would have to hold the vessel nearly upside down, just to get a small amount of liquid.
Ultraviolet light testing reveals that this jug has been significantly repaired. Much of the bottom portion, and most importantly, the spout and top opening, have been recreated using modern materials. It appears that the repairs are based on an assumption of what the jug looked like, and may not be its original design.
It may be the parts that make the jug seem impractical are actually modern reparation.
Ryleigh Swanson, Smith College ‘19
[ Detailed Image Description: A bulbous jug that is a majority brown, with white figures and blue outlining design. The smiling figures are repeated along the body. The faces are round and simple, with two eyes, a dash for the nose and a crooked smile accompanying a mass of polka-dotted clothing implying a seated figure. Along the top of the jug are four-legged animals chasing each other around the opening at the top. This top juts out of the middle and is lined with Arabic script along the inside. Next to the opening is a handle with a thumb tab to make holding easier. This handle is brown, and the tab blue. Just a few centimeters away from the handle is small spout, also in brown and lined with blue.]