Chlorite is a distinctive grey-green stone that
was utilized during antiquity for the fabrication of
luxurious containers in the greater Gulf region as
well as around the area of what is currently
southern Iran.
Excavations at the archaeological site of Tepe
Yaya in the Kerman Province of Iran, dated to the
mid-third millennium B.C., unearthed the ruins of
workshops where such vessels were discovered.
Around 2800 BC, chlorite or steatite stone bowls
were manufactured in considerable numbers in
that area, though at a distance of around a
thousand kilometres from the Mesopotamian
centers of commerce of the time. The fact that
such vessels turn up in archaeological
excavations at a greater number than they
appear near their respective centers of
productions is a clear testimony of the florid
commercial trade at the time and the evidence
suggests a regular production for export, in order
to meet the economic demand in Mesopotamia.
Other excavations on Iranian soil help illuminate
further such patterns of long-distance trade in
these preliterate centuries.
On the island of Tarut, in the Gulf close to the
Arabian coast, over six hundred complete and
fragmentary vessels and weights have been
unearthed. Because many partially formed
objects found on Tarut were discovered next to
chunks of unworked chlorite, it has been
surmised that this island was once a center of
production for these works.
Found throughout the ancient Near East, from
Syria to the Indus Valley, revealing the extensive
trade routes of the time, these works are
classified by modern historians as belonging to
the “Intercultural Style,” called so because they
derive iconographical elements from both Near
Eastern and Harappan traditions.
Much like the written cuneiform alphabet was
used by several distinct cultures throughout the
ancient Near East to dictate their individual
spoken languages, so such vessels were created
by various cultures, each adorning the works
with their own distinct aesthetic style. Many
examples were discovered in the ruins of palatial
and temple structures or entombed in the graves
of the nobility, including Sumerian Mesopotamia.
Clearly these vessels were among the most
precious luxury items that could only be afforded
by the ruling elite.
Flat-based cylindrical bowl provided with a short
flaring rim that has been decorated with the
carved image of two mythological beasts, two
serpentiform dragon-like creatures in an
extremely tight embrace, very possibly fighting
against each other and creating a pattern which
repeated covers the whole of the vessel's outer
surface.
The scene does not reflect the usual serenity of
pasturing animals to which we are mostly
accustomed by other stone examples of this
period.
- (LO.1264)
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