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Collections

Water Jar (habb)12th century

Not on view
Unglazed gray ceramic vessel with an egg-shaped body, decorated in low relief with spiral scrolls, lion-head appliqués, and figural panels on the neck and shoulder
Large ceramic amphora with two loop handles, pale gray earthenware, decorated with incised geometric patterns near the neck and dense scrolling foliate relief across the bulbous body.
Large ceramic amphora with ovoid body and two twisted rope-style handles, covered in stamped and incised scrolling vine patterns arranged in horizontal bands around the shoulder and body, pale gray-buff clay with weathered surface.
Title
Water Jar (habb)
Place Made
Iraq
Date Made
12th century
Medium
Earthenware, molded, applied, and incised decoration
Dimensions
23 × 15 1/2 in. (58.42 × 39.37 cm)
Credit Line
The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost
Accession Number
M.2002.1.82
Classification
Ceramics
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes

This type of unglazed jar, or habb, served as a water cistern. Because of its ungainly ovoid shape with rounded bottom, it would have been placed in the ground or set on some form of support in order to stand upright. Water vessels of this type (also see M.73.5.710) were typically covered with relief decoration combining abstract and figural motifs that were left unglazed, so that their porosity allowed not only for the filtering of impurities but also for evaporation, which kept the water cool.

Selected Bibliography
  • Komaroff, Linda, editor. Dining with the Sultan: The Fine Art of Feasting. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books, 2023.