This terracotta pot was found in the Indus Valley (an area that is now known as Pakistan and northwestern India) and is dated circa 3500 – 2000 B.C. The vessel has a cylindrical body with a conical undecorated base tapering from the bottom quarter of the bowl down to its lipped base. The bowl is intact and is decorated with the picture of a snake slithering in waves, five times around the circumference of the outside of the bowl. The illustration is framed between two closely drawn lines above and beneath it. The body of the snake is separated into many small diagonal sections. Some of these have been dashed with rust colored paint. There are also a couple of small yellow splotches on the body of the bowl. The diamond shaped head and wormlike tail of the snake are clearly drawn and visible. The inside of the bowl is for the most part insignificant except for an intriguing but indistinguishable black symbol with many sharp angles painted on one side of the bottom of the bowl. It is particularly noteworthy in its contrast to the fluidity of the decoration on the outside of the bowl. - (SP.590)

Antiquities
Ancient Near East