Egyptian Predynastic Naqada II Black Top Jar

Ancient Egypt, Predynastic Period, Naqada II, ca. 3650 to 3300 BCE. A lovely pottery vessel with a highly-burnished, earth-red hued surface made with a thin iron-oxide slip. This coil-formed Nile silt vessel has a conical body with a flat base, gradually-expanding walls with a rounded shoulder, and a wide mouth with a rolled rim. The black-hued area surrounding the rim is comprised of thick carbon deposits formed by subjecting the top to dense clouds of smoke for extended periods of time 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: 3.15" W x 4.1" H (8 cm x 10.4 cm); 4.95" H (12.6 cm) on included custom stand.

See a similar example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547291

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#148389
Condition Report: Tiny area of expert restoration on the rim. Otherwise in lovely condition with light deposits and wear to the pigment on the surface commensurate with age.