Basket-Shaped Jar with Looped Handle and Decorative Grooves

Basket-Shaped Jar with Looped Handle and Decorative Grooves
Copper
H. 18.6 cm; W. 8.9 cm
Naḥal Mishmar, 4500–3600 BCE
Israel Antiquities Authority: 1961-164, exhibited at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Photography by Elie Posner © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

The Nahal Mishmar hoard included three such copper jars with a high basket handle. While these vessels have no oner metal parallels, the shape is known from pottery assemblages of the period, reinforcing the experimental nature of art of in the Copper Age.