Bird-shaped Libation Vessel

3100 BC - 2900 BC
Clay
Khafajah
17 cm x 30.5 cm x 30.5 cm
A17818

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Bird-shaped Libation Vessel

This bird-shaped vessel was probably used to pour libations (liquid offerings) to the gods. It was found together with cylinder seals, amulets, and pendants, in a room adjacent to the sanctuary of a temple. Vessels such as this one, which can be identified by the funnel on the back, are occasionally depicted in scenes on cylinder seals.

Collected by

Henri Frankfort, Field Director of the Iraq Expedition
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1935-1936

Multimedia

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Suggested Readings

Frankfort, H. and H.A., John A. Wilson, and Thorkild Jacobsen. Before Philosophy: The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1946.

Kramer, Samuel Noah. Cradle of Civilization. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1967.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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