The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 30, 2023

"Bear-Woman" Vessel

c. 1200–1000 BC

Marlik, northwest Iran, c. 1200-1000 BC

Ceramic, earthenware, burnished

Overall: 24.1 x 14.7 x 16.5 cm (9 1/2 x 5 13/16 x 6 1/2 in.)

James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund 1967.35

Location

102A Ancient Near East

Description

The sexual features of this creature have been emphasized so as to guarantee fertility to the woman who drank from it.

Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 11 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 3 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 1, fig. 1
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 5 archive.org
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.35