Black-topped Red Ware Bowl
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for Black-topped Red Ware Bowl
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.
Predynastic Period, Naqada I–II, about 3400–3200 BCE
Predynastic Period (4500-3100 BCE)
Predynastic Period (4000-3200 BCE)
Master of the David Scenes in the Grimani Breviary
Possibly assembled 19th century
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