Name of Object:

Jug

Location:

Amman, Jordan

Holding Museum:

Spanish Mission

About Spanish Mission, Amman

Current Owner:

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Date of Object:

Hegira first half of the 2nd century / AD first half of the 8th century

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Applied bronze.

Dimensions:

Height 40 cm, diameter (of body) 27 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad

Provenance:

Unknown.

Description:

A magnificent squat-shaped applied bronze jug with a high loop handle attached to the body and lid with a chain. Three discs, decorated with incised rosette and concentric circles, form a collar that surrounds the neck and which is nailed to a twisted arm that ends with a curled spiral on the lower part of the handle.

An applied bronze jug from a house on the Citadel of Amman. Its high loop handle is attached to the body and lid with a chain. Three discs decorated with incised rosette and concentric circles form a collar around the neck.

How date and origin were established:

The object was dated by its archaeological context and associated pottery in situ.

How Object was obtained:

The object was recovered curing the course of an archaeological excavation in 1999–2000 in a house that lay south of the mosque on the Citadel of Amman.

How provenance was established:

The object was recovered during an archaeological excavation at Amman Citadel; but where this object was produced is uncertain.

Selected bibliography:

Unpublished object: information about this object has been gained through personal communication with Dr Ignacio Arce, Director of the Spanish Archaeological Mission in Amman. Smith, R., and Day, L., Pella of the Decapolis, Vol. II, London, 1989, p.69, object no. 350126; plate 38H.

Citation of this web page:

Aida Naghawy "Jug" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;jo;Mus01_H;34;en

Prepared by: Aida NaghawyAida Naghawy

Aida Naghawy is an archaeologist and the Director of Jordan Archaeological Museum. She studied archaeology at the University of Jordan where she gained her MA. She was affiliated to the Jordanian Department of Antiquities from 1974 as a curator of Jordan Archaeological Museum. In 1981 she became inspector of Jerash antiquities and co-ordinator of the Jerash International Rehabilitation project. She was also head of the archaeological awareness section at the Department of Antiquities. Aida is the author of numerous publications on Islamic coins. She has carried out excavation work in Jerash and is the founder of Jerash Archaeological Museum and the Islamic Museum of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: JO 70