The Grindel Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts Collection

Dr. Grindel Poses with artifacts from his donated collection

In 2017, former Cerritos College administrator, Dr. John Grindel, generously donated a collection of thirty artifacts from the Ancient Near East to the Cerritos College Foundation. Collected by Dr. Grindel himself over the course of his academic career, the artifacts range from the middle Iron Age to the Bronze Age (approximately 3,500 to 2,000 years ago), with a few more recent pieces from the Hellenistic/Roman eras (300 BCE - 300 CE), and vary in their geographic origin, though most are from the Levant (today: Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq). Primarily consisting of ceramic wares of everyday usage, there is also a wooden spoon, a couple bronze toga pins (fibulae), and fragments of flint and iron tools. Though most of the ceramic pieces are in surprisingly good condition for their age, a few only remain as incomplete pieces (sherds), some still showing remnants of painted decoration (ostracon).

Cerritos College and the Cerritos College Art Gallery would like to thank Dr. Grindel for this generous donation, which will no doubt be used as a wonderful resource for teaching students of history, art history, anthropology, and archeology for many years to come. The Cerritos College Art Gallery would also like to thank the former Cerritos College Foundation director, Steve Richardson, for facilitating the donation and Cerritos College Art History and Visual & Cultural Studies professor, Dr. Lisa Boutin-Vitela, for her thoughtful identification/classification of many of the pieces in the collection.

Small Amphora 

Small amphora with medium length neck and two handles on its body.

 ~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

4.75 x 5 x 0.26 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Vase

Brown ceramic vase.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.75 x 3.89 x 0.35 in. 

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Juglet

Small ceramic jug with one handle connecting the mouth to the body.

 ~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.1 x 2.58 x 0.17 in. 

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl with Small Foot

Weathered and encrusted ceramic bowl with a small foot.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.64 x 5.64 x 2.51 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Fibulae

Thin brooch with hole in the center that is greened from rust.

~1500-500 BC

Bronze

6.15 x 0.24 x 0.24 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Tool

Spindle-shaped tool encrusted in sediment.

~1500-500 BC

Iron

2.05 x 0.28 x 0.25 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Tool

Semi-flat desaturated brown tool with beveled edges.

~1500-500 BC

Flint

2 x 0.93 x 0.19 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Spoon

Wooden spoon with pointy tip.

~1500-500 BC

Wood

6.25 x 1.4 x 0.4 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Jug

Weathered jug with handle connecting rim and body.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.67 x 2.62 x 2.58 in. 

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl with Curved Lip and Small Foot

Brown ceramic bowl with small foot and chipped curved lip.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.56 x 6.06 x 6.06 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Vase

Ceramic vase with short and thick neck.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

4.243 x 3.72 x 0.24 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Lamp

Tear-drop shaped ceramic with a hole in the center and a hole at the point.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

0.91 x 3.23 x 2.63 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl

Ceramic bowl with faded color.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

1.81 x 2.49 x 0.2 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Juglet

Ceramic jar with a thick neck and a handle connecting the rim and body.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

3.76 x 2.87 x 2.84 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl with Decoration

Tall conical bowl with burnt-sienna colored rim.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

4.5 x 5.5 x 0.27 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

Jug

Jug with long spout and one handle.

 ~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

7.5 x 4.75 x 0.21 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Jug with Small Foot

Ceramic jug with long neck and one handle.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.56 x 2.67 x 0.18 in. 

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl

Brown ceramic bowl.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.35 x 5.3 x 2.65 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Lamp

Ceramic oil lamp with shallow discus and pinched rim.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

5.06 x 4.78 x 1.54 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Fibulae

Small brooch with hole on top half and layered pattern on bottom half.

~1500-500 BC

Bronze

2.19 x 0.43 x 0.35 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Tool

Semi-flat beige tool with depth shaped like an irregular pentagon.

~1500-500 BC

Flint

2.88 x 0.8 x 0.21 in. 

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Tool

Semi-flat desaturated brown tool with beveled edges.

~1500-500 BC

Flint

1.28 x 0.97 x 0.22 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Juglet

Small gray jug with medium-sized neck and handle connecting neck and body.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

3 x 2.17 x 0.15 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Amphora

Spindle-shaped amphora with long neck and rim.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

7.5 x 2.04 x 2.04 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Sherd

Fragment of ceramic wavy on the top and flat on the bottom.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.09 x 4.66 x 0.45 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Krater with Curved Lip and Small Foot

Large vase with small foot short neck and curved lip.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

4.5 x 5.17 x 5.17 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Sherd/Ostracon from Rim of Dish

Fragment of ceramic dish that shows part of the portruding rim.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.41 x 3.22 x 1 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Bowl with Small Foot

Coroded ceramic bowl with small foot and a beveled lower half.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

6.09 x 6.09 x 3.15 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Small Amphora with Decoration

Amphora with two holes on the sides and a linear diamond pattern.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.67 x 2.12 x 0.21 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel

 

Sherd/Orstracon

Fragment of ceramic decorated with straight and curved lines.

~1500-500 BC

Ceramic

2.15 x 2.86 x 0.3 in.

Gift of Dr. John Grindel