Terracotta Bird Vessel with a Flat Crown

The Dressed Bird

This bird is dressed for a ceremony. On its head sits a flat, wide crown like a ceremonial hat, its edges turned up and finished with a beaded rim. Around its neck is a collar, and from the collar hangs a long band of circles ending in a fringed tassel, like a sash or a pendant of office.

The face is wonderfully alert: round eyes set in rings, ears like small discs, and a broad beak open as if about to speak. It is less a portrait of a real bird than a character, perhaps a dignitary, a messenger, or a figure from a story.

The body of the vessel is shaped like an egg, a fitting form for a bird, and divided by beaded ridges that echo the rim of the crown. Small lugs at the shoulders suggest folded wings.

A footed, egg-shaped vessel rising into the head of a bird with a wide, open beak, round eyes and disc-shaped ears. The head is topped by a broad flat crown with upturned edges and a beaded rim.

A notched collar circles the neck. From it hangs a long band decorated with stamped circles and ending in a fringed tassel. Beaded ridges divide the body, and small pointed lugs project at the shoulders.