Ca. 2800-2400 B.C.E. Late Sixth Dynasty

(0729)

In the third millennium, the commonest decorative motif in Iran was the bird of prey, which appears on pottery from various areas. This vase, slightly carinated at shoulder level, has a rounded, almost hemispherical lower body, a short narrow neck, and a flared rim. The vase is marked by monochrome painting in deep brown on the beige background of the clay. Around the neck and below the carination there are painted bands with geometric designs, while the shoulder zone contains the motif of a bird of prey, on opposite sides, separated from each other by a vertical striated zigzag. The large claws of the bird and the large arched striated wings are spread wide. The bird’s head, turned in profile, has a big eye rendered as an encircled dot.

The shape of the vase and its decoration have parallels in the "Second Style of Susa" pottery, found at Susa, level D (Db-Dd). This is contemporary with the Early Dynastic period II-III in Mesopotamia (ca. 2800-2400 BCE.). The decoration of the Second Style is characterized by polychrome painting, which turned monochrome towards the end of the period (Dd). The bird-of-prey motif, probably a mythological creature, has analogies in both the polychrome and monochrome painted vases and is found in sites in the valleys of the Zagros Mountains north of Elam.