Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In this lecture, François Bridey of the Musée du Louvre introduces research on recently rediscovered Late Chalcolithic ceramics from southwestern Iran.
Founded in the fifth millennium BCE, Susa is one of the most significant archaeological sites in southwestern Iran and has yielded the largest known assemblage of painted pottery from the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5500–3300 BCE). This corpus, commonly referred to as “Susa I ceramics,” originates primarily from a vast burial site, where over a thousand complete painted vases were excavated by the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan beginning in 1906. Crafted from highly refined clay, these vessels feature black-on-buff intricate geometric and figural designs that suggest a society with a complex symbolic tradition.
Recently, the Louvre discovered in its storerooms sealed crates originally received in 1908 that contained hundreds of unpublished “Susa I” vases. This unexpected find initiated a critical reassessment of the entire corpus. Dr. François Bridey introduces new hypotheses on the production and usage of the vases as well as the symbolic significance of their painted motifs.
François Bridey is curator in charge of Ancient Iran and Central Asia at the department of Near Eastern Antiquities of the Musée du Louvre since 2015, and its deputy director since 2025. Between 2020 and 2024, he was cultural attaché for Museum and Cultural Heritage at the Embassy of France in the US, based in New York. His research focuses in particular on the ceramic traditions of Susa and the Iranian plateau, on the kingdom of Elam in the second millennium BCE, and on the history of French archaeology in Iran. He teaches at the École du Louvre and the University of Strasbourg, and he has participated in archaeological excavations at Girdi Qala and Logardan in Iraqi Kurdistan and at Ulug Depe in Turkmenistan. Dr. Bridey graduated in art history, Near Eastern archaeology, museum studies, and arts and culture management from the École du Louvre, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, ESCP Business School, and the Institut national du patrimoine.
This lecture was generously supported by the Tina and Hamid Moghadam Fund.
The event was recorded on December 15, 2025.
In this lecture, François Bridey of the Musée du Louvre introduces research on recently rediscovered Late Chalcolithic ceramics from southwestern Iran.
Founded in the fifth millennium BCE, Susa is one of the most significant archaeological sites in southwestern Iran and has yielded the largest known assemblage of painted pottery from the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5500–3300 BCE). This corpus, commonly referred to as “Susa I ceramics,” originates primarily from a vast burial site, where over a thousand complete painted vases were excavated by the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan beginning in 1906. Crafted from highly refined clay, these vessels feature black-on-buff intricate geometric and figural designs that suggest a society with a complex symbolic tradition.
Recently, the Louvre discovered in its storerooms sealed crates originally received in 1908 that contained hundreds of unpublished “Susa I” vases. This unexpected find initiated a critical reassessment of the entire corpus. Dr. François Bridey introduces new hypotheses on the production and usage of the vases as well as the symbolic significance of their painted motifs.
François Bridey is curator in charge of Ancient Iran and Central Asia at the department of Near Eastern Antiquities of the Musée du Louvre since 2015, and its deputy director since 2025. Between 2020 and 2024, he was cultural attaché for Museum and Cultural Heritage at the Embassy of France in the US, based in New York. His research focuses in particular on the ceramic traditions of Susa and the Iranian plateau, on the kingdom of Elam in the second millennium BCE, and on the history of French archaeology in Iran. He teaches at the École du Louvre and the University of Strasbourg, and he has participated in archaeological excavations at Girdi Qala and Logardan in Iraqi Kurdistan and at Ulug Depe in Turkmenistan. Dr. Bridey graduated in art history, Near Eastern archaeology, museum studies, and arts and culture management from the École du Louvre, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, ESCP Business School, and the Institut national du patrimoine.
This lecture was generously supported by the Tina and Hamid Moghadam Fund.
The event was recorded on December 15, 2025.
