Painted vessel with bridge-spout

Early Iron Age, about 1000-800 BC. Probably from Tepe Sialk, central Iran. This type of painted pottery is a local central Iranian variation of the Grey Ware typical of sites of this period in northern Iran. In the early centuries of the first millennium BC new forms of a type of pottery called Late Western Grey Ware emerged. This bridge-spouted vessel is typical. Similar jars with long spouts are known earlier, but now have the addition of a bridge between the rim and the spout. The popularity of bridge-spouted jars in pottery is probably a reflection of the widespread use of sheet-metal versions during this period in Iran.