Jar with Spiral Designs

A Neolithic earthenware jar with a flared mouth and round body, its red-buff surface covered in dense black slip-painted spirals. Two eye-like rings, each with a dark center, sit on the shoulders, and a band of black encircles the lower body.

Look closer: An unpainted red triangle sits where the spiral bands meet just above the lower black band.

Artist

Unknown

Date

3300–2650 BCE

Medium

earthenware with slip-painted decoration

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

2806 × 3400 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Donna S. and James S. Reid Jr. in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou