Parthia is a historical region which roughly
corresponds to the north-eastern region of what
is nowadays the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It was bordered by the Karakum desert in the
north, including the mountainous part of Kopet
Dag and the Dasht-e-Kavir desert in the south,
neighbouring Media on the west, Hyrcania on the
north west, Margiana on the north east and Aria
on the south east.
The territory of Parthia was conquered and
subjugated by the empire of the Medes during
the 7th century BC, was eventually incorporated
into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under
Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and
formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire
following the 4th-century-BC conquests of
Alexander the Great. The area later served as the
political and cultural base of the Eastern-Iranian
Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the
Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD). The Sasanian
Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire as the last
state of pre-Islamic Persia, also held the region
and maintained the Seven Parthian clans as part
of their feudal aristocracy
The name "Parthia" is a continuation through
Latin deriving from the local word Parthava,
translated as "of the Parthians" and designating
the native inhabitants of the area.
In contrast to their hostile relationship with
Rome, the Parthians seem to have courted the
favor of the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian who
visited Parthia and described it as an advanced
urban civilization. As a result, trade soon
flourished with China. A detailed account of
Parthian civilization has yet to be written partly
because so little of their own literature has
survived. Historians are thus forced to rely on
foreign histories and numismatic evidence. It is
nevertheless clear from Parthian coins that their
Kings were consciously modeling themselves on
their Achaemenid predecessors and attached
great significance to the visual arts.
Glazed turquoise green vessels are one of
the most distinctive Parthian art forms. Glazed
ceramics were extremely rare in the Middle East
prior to the Islamic period. Only in China were
glazed wares common at such an early date.
Trade and diplomatic ties most likely encouraged
such a development in the Parthian region. Even
despite their elegant form such vessels were
used for practical purposes such as the storage
and transportation of liquids and grains. Their
color was created from copper and iron oxides
mixed with an alkaline glaze which was applied
on top of a fine white paste so that the reddish
surface of the clay would not show through. The
shapes of the vessels reveal a reliance on Greek
and Mesopotamian forms while the green glaze
has often been likened to the patina that bronze
acquires over time.
This elegantly shaped Parthian glazed
terracotta jar has an elongated body with a short
neck and one handle. It is light turquoise in color
and has an elaborate spout that resembles the
ripples of a ribbon bunches close together.
The elegance of Parthian wares continued to
be influential hundreds of years later with similar
decorations, forms, and techniques found in the
sophisticated ceramic arts of the Islamic period.
As such, this beautiful Parthian vessel would
serve as an excellent addition to any collection of
Islamic pottery.
