An Egyptian Pre-Dynastic Pottery Vessel, Pre-Dynastic Period, Naqada II, ca. 3300 - 3200 BCE

This jar-shaped vessel was created in the "D ware" style during the height of the Naqada II period. The squat shape of the body and the wide- lipped rim may have been modeled after vessels of this style originally made in stone. This type, made of marl clay (a mixture of fine sand and silt), was an excellent material as it created a hard and extremely durable vessel that could be fired at high temperatures. The horizontal lug handles and red ochre decoration against a tan clay background are typical of the D ware style. Vertical rush lines are grouped in four horizontal bands surrounding the belly and bottom of the vessel. The rim also contains vertical rush lines, and the bottom is depicted with two wavy circles. The vertical rush lines, more uncommon than those depicted horizontally, are possibly representative of plants or snakes.

Ref: Lawrence M. Berman, The Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue of Egyptian Art, New York: Hudson Hills Press (1999), pg. 107. 

Medium: Clay

Dimensions: Height: 3 3/8 inches (8.5 cm), Width: 5 3/4 inches (14.6 cm)

Condition: Two chips in the rim, but otherwise in good condition.

Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in the 1960s and then by descent.