Vessel with a handle in the form of a ram 5th-3rd century BC Iran This ceramic cup has a handle in the form of an ibex. The ibexs body is cylindrical, with its front and back legs and shoulders modeled smoothly. The ibex has curved horns, decorated with incised horizontal lines, pointed ears, and eyes under heavy lids. Its nose and forelegs touch the rim of the cup, and its overall posture suggests leaping. The cup is decorated with horizontal ribs with alternating dark brown bands. The cup itself was made on a potters wheel, with the ibex handle added afterwards.There are no other known cups like this one, making it difficult to determine its date or place of origin. Thermoluminescence testing indicates a date in the 1st millennium B.C. The ibex handle suggests that it may come from Iran, since ibexes were native to the Zagros and Alborz Mountains and their distinct profiles, especially their curved horns, have inspired Iranian artists and craftsmen since the Chalcolithic period. Th