Egyptian Predynastic Naqada I Blacktop Vase

Ancient Egypt, Predynastic period, late Naqada I to early Naqada II, ca. 3600 to 3300 BCE. A beautiful coil-formed Nile silt pottery vase with a highly burnished exterior surface boasting a lustrous russet hue created with an iron-oxide slip. The conical body rests atop a flat base, its walls gradually flaring outwards to a thin rim and eventually into a deep interior cavity. The upper exterior rim as well as the vessel's basin are colored a deep black, comprised of thick carbon deposits formed by subjecting them extensively to thick clouds of smoke in an oxygen-deprived environment. Black-top vessels originally rose to popularity during the early Naqada I, a culture which inhabited ancient Egypt during its predynastic period. The Naqada were first described by famed archaeologist William Flinders Petrie, however relatively little is known about them except that they were focused around the site of El-Amra in central Egypt, west of the Nile River. Size: 7.875" W x 6.625" H (20 cm x 16.8 cm).

Predynastic Egyptian black-top vessels were traditionally made from silt deposits taken from the Nile river due to their abundance in iron and silica. After the pot had dried but before it was fired, it would first be burnished and rubbed smooth with a small stone to create the pinstripe vertical striations still visible today. An iron-rich slip would then be applied just before firing; when placed in an oxygen-rich environment, the elevated temperatures would create the vessels' signature red-orange hue.

After the end of the Naqada III period around 3,000 BCE, the use of Nile silt in pottery creations fell out of favor with the predynastic Egyptians. This is due to the increase in popularity of marl clay, a newly discovered material for creating terracotta objects which was easier to shape and enabled firing at far greater temperatures than the highly porous silt. A few blacktop examples have been found from later Dynastic periods; however, they were likely used solely for ritualistic and/or ceremonial purposes.

For a smaller but similar ritual example from the 13th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, please visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 20.2.45.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery; ex-private New Jersey, USA collection; ex-private California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#149777
Condition Report: Area of repair to shoulder, with some new material and light overpainting along break lines. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, small pressure fissures along shoulder, some fading and discoloration to pigmentation. Light earthen deposits throughout.