323 - Wine amphora with painted decoration, biblical period of Moses, Canaanite culture, Mediterranean Levant, Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC)

Wine amphora with painted decoration, biblical period of Moses, Canaanite culture, Mediterranean Levant, Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC) Hand-formed and fired terracotta ceramic with painted decoration. Dimensions: 21 cm high x 19 cm wide. Height including base: 27 cm. This interesting wine amphora belongs to the pottery tradition of ancient Canaan during the Late Bronze Age, a period characterized by the development of significant trade and cultural networks between Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the cities of the Levant. The piece has a well-proportioned body with a tall, slender neck that ends in a distinctive flared mouth with an open profile, designed to facilitate the controlled pouring of liquids. Two curved handles are located on either side of the shoulders, intended to allow for handling and transport. Its structure corresponds to a type of container used for the storage, preservation, and distribution of wine—especially concentrated wines—a product of great economic and social importance in the ancient civilizations of the Near East. The surface features painted decoration that adds ornamental interest to the piece and reflects the ceramic traditions developed in the region’s workshops during the second millennium BC. Wine played a prominent role in Canaanite societies, both in daily consumption and in celebrations, trade, and religious ceremonies. The amphorae and jugs used for its storage are fundamental evidence of the material culture of this period, when the cities of the Levant maintained close ties with New Kingdom Egypt and other territories of the eastern Mediterranean. The piece dates to the period traditionally associated with the biblical narratives of Moses and the historical context of the Canaanite populations prior to the establishment of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Its typology finds parallels in the Late Bronze Age ceramic assemblages studied by Ruth Amiran in her work *Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land*, a fundamental reference for ...