Black-topped Red Ware Bowl

Place of OriginEgypt

DatePredynastic Period, Naqada I–II, about 3500–3200 BCE

DimensionsH: 3 1/2 in. (8.8 cm); Diam: 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)

MediumEarthenware (Nile Silt), burnished and carbonized

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of Arthur Bissell, Elise Backus, Mrs. Paul A. Harsch, George S. Mills, Mrs. William A. Rundell, Henry Wilhelm, and Mrs. Grant Williams, by exchange

Object number

1993.62

Not on View

DescriptionA hand-built, coil-constructed earthenware bowl characterized by a broad, slightly offset rim, flaring sides, and a convex base. The vessel surface is burnished to a high polish. The rim and interior exhibit a deep, lustrous black coloration, which transitions to a rich red on the lower body. The black top was produced during firing by placing the hot vessel rim-down into organic material (chaff or sawdust), creating a reducing atmosphere that carbonized the clay.

Published ReferencesChristie, Manson & Woods, Ltd., Fine Antiquities (London, July 7, 1993), p. 48, lot 117.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Hayes, W., The Scepter of Egypt, Part I, New York, 1953, pp. 16-17, fig. 7.

cf. Raphael, M., Prehistoric Pottery and Civilization in Egypt, Washington, D.C., 1947, pp. 67-74, pl. x.

cf. Smith, W.S., Ancient Egypt, Boston, 1960, pp. 19-20.