Bourriau-PotteryFromNileBeforeArabConquest

5/21/2018 Bourriau-PotteryFromNileBeforeArabConquest

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UMM

L

GA AB

POTTERY

FROM THE

NILE V LLEY

BEFORE THE

R B

CONQUEST

Catalogue

by

Janine Bourriau

Exhibition organised by the

Fitzwilliam

Museum

Cambridge

6 October to 11 December

1981

Cambridge University Press

Cambriage

London

New

York

New

Rochelle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - Melbour ne Sydney

Cambridge


2/12

.P7J

Bt1

Published by the

Press Syndicate

of the

University

of Cambridge

The

Pitt

Building Trumpington Street Cambridge

CB2

lR

32 East 57th Street New York, NY 10022, USA

296 Beaconsfield Parade Middle Park

Melbourne

3206, Australia

Fitzwilliam Museum 1981

First published 1981

Printed

in

Great

Britain

at

the

University Press Cambridge

British

Library

cataloguing

in publication data

Bourriau Janine

Umm el-Ga ab.

1. Pottery

Ancient Egyptian- Exhibitions

I.

Title II. Fitzwilliam Museum

796.3 0932 NK3810

ISBN o 521 24065 4 hard covers

ONTENTS

Foreword by Michael Jaffe 6

Introduction 8

Abbreviations

and

concordances

10

1 Technology: Potters, kilns

and

clays

14

2

Decoration: Introduction 23. Incised and burnished ornament 23. Painted motifs: the river and

the desert

26.

Painted motifs: linear designs

29. Modelling

in

the

round and relief

30

3 Science

and

archaeology: Thermoluminescence 40.

Neutron

activation

analysis 41

4 Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods,

c.

500o-2628 Be

44

5 Old Kingdom and First Intermediate period,

2628 2040

C 51

6 Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate period, 204o-1551 C 55

7 A burial of the Middle Kingdom 6o

8 Domestic pottery of the Middle Kingdom 65

9 New Kingdom, 1551-1070 C

72

10 Late period, 107o-3o

C

8o

Roman-Coptic period,

30

Be to

AD

641

88

12

Handmade pottery from Nubia

and

the Sudan, 450o-1500

C

97

13 Late Meroitic

and

Christian periods in Nubia,

c. AD

10o-1400

104

14

Magic and ritual

112

15 Trade

121

16 Foreign influences on Egyptian pottery

130

Map of the Nile valley

140

Chronological table 141


3/12

E.40.1921

22S

E.P.23

191 rSoo2

E.75.1921

26S

E.P.37

151 1Sl70

E.76.1921

2

49

E.P.136

122

1S345

E.126.1921

13

E.P.17S

10

1S365

E.16.1925

263

E.P.246

231

1S371

E.26.1927

139

E.P.261

135

1S374

ONCORDANCE OF MUSEUM NUMBERS AND CATALOGUE NUMBERS

E.1.192S 32

E.P.2S6

272

1S3SO

E.5.192S

270

E.P-447

165

1S3S5

E.10.1931

15

1S470

E.210.1931

6 E.SS.14

114

1S4S4

E.20S.1932

190 1S496

E.170.1939

33

GR.6S.1S94

162

1S514

E.1S6.1939

2

37

GR.S2.1S94

162

1S540

E.1SS.1939

240

GR.S9.1S94

162

1S577

E.43.1946.

271

GR.229.1S94

162

rS627

E 1950

76

GR.14S.1S99

164

rS636

E.15.1950

23S

GR.300.1S99

163

19043

E.17.1950 227 GR.S.1932 247 19206

E.2.1962

221

GR.9.1977

166

19213

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

City of Birmingham Museum and Art

E.103.1900 s

Gallery

E.121.1900

142

E.197S

106

E.122.1900 266

E.19S6 107 78S 66 223 E.136.19 00

183

E.2326

143 791 66

224

E.1S9.1900

254

E.2405 144

797 66

225 E.190.1900

2

54

E.6.1962

222 19226

E.2432 4S E.2S6.1900

19

E.7.1962

220

19300

E.2463

269

w 113S

r6o

E.287.1900

Sl

E.19.1971

1S4

Museum of Classical

Archaeology,

19315

E.22.1971

171

Cambridge

19347

E.1S.1976

rSS

246

19372

E.2.19S0

16

24S

19455

E.1.19S1

241

20500

30215

EGA.2919.1943 175

Petrie Collection, University

College,

30223

EGA.2935.1943

174

London

30224

EGA.293S.1943

177

30225

EGA.29391943

179

2965

43

30226

E.2541

lOS

w 13423

105 E.91-2.1902

229

E.2775

51

w 127630 136

E.94-1902 131

E.2777

45

E.105.1902

132

E.2S02

39

British Museum, London

E.111.1902

135

E.2S07

41

E.112.1902

135

E.3240

2

53

5114

49

E.140.1902

161

E.3499

6o

24706

137

E.161.1902

22

E.3509

59

35993

167

E.162.1902

234

E.4153

109

51111

97

E.176.1902

130

E.4273

62

51477

216

E.1S0.1902 112 EGA.2940.1943

17S

4129

4

EGA.4157.1943 245 56SS

5

Concordance of provenance

and

EGA.415S.1943

245

5742

71

EGA.4160.1943

2

45

6297

30

catalogue numbers

EGA.4325.1943

S2

8695

57

Abadiyeh: 39, 45 Abydos: 7, 8, 11, 12

EGA.4330.1943

40

S701

146

51, S1, SS 97 102, 128, 142-4, 149

EGA.4571.1943

31 8902

54

192,202,20S,229,234-5253-4.266

EGA.4663.1943

205

9092

2S

Alexandria: 166. Amarna: 53, 55-6,

EGA.4664.1943

77

9096

6S

244, 246-S, 267(?).

Armant:

S4-5.

A

EGA.4666.1943

75

9240

27

168. Badari: 27-S, 68-9. Ballas: 72,

EGA.4667.1943

26

9403

69

7S(?), 79, 259(?).

Beni

Hasan: 105-13

EGA.4668.1943

197 10704 194

130, 236. Debeira

West:

223-5. Den

EGA.4669.1943

196

lOS 53

So

17(?), 21. Edfu: 26(?). Ehnasya: 176.

EGA.4676.1943

204

13477

46

173, 1S7, 206, 209-12, 214-16.

Fa

EGA-4683.1943

152

13479 47

17S. Firka: 243. Gaza: 271. Gemayemi:

EGA-46S4.1943

56

13501

2

55

Giza: 1S(?).

Gurob:

147, 249, 26S. Ha

EGA.500S.1943

267

13507

251

63, 91. Hawara: 121, r8o(?). Hierakon

EGA.5997.1943

141

14115 193

19, 41, 65. Hu: 9, 14, 22, 62, So, 95, 1

EGA.6027.1943

53

14122

193

120(?), 127, 129, 131-5, 145 230, 2

EGA.61S5.1943

55

15310

74

El-Kab: 1, 2, 93, 99, roo, 123-4,

EGA.61SS.1943

140

15337

35 Kahun:

118-19, 125. Karanog: 226. K

EGA.63S5.1943 67

15343

58

207.

Lahun:

156-7, 159. Maidum: 87.

EGA.63S6.1943 25

15350

3S

mar: 6, 15, 98. Meroe: 213, 218-19. M

EGA.63S7.1943

195

15354 37

gidda:7o. Vaqada:3-5,23-4,29,344

EGA.63S8.1943

203

16244

230

66, 71, 73(?), 78(?), 252, 257-S, 2

EGA.63S9.1943 19S 16773

11S

Vaucratis: 162-5. Vubt: 101.

Qasr

EGA.6390.1943- 199

17366

235

22o-2. Qau:

S6, S9-9o, 117, 200,-2

EGA.6391.1943

232

1753S

IS

Rifeh:

201, 239. Riqqa: 96, 250. Saft

EGA.106.1949 1 :a__n 5 47

170, ~ 7 2

Sanam:

13. Saqqara: 171,

17616

87 Shaheinab: 193-4. Shurufa: rSr(?),

E.P.7

20

17855

91

Sidmant:

50,

94, 116, 22S, 261. Tar

E.P.S 260 17S8S 200 S3, 92, 251.

Thebes:

47, 49, 52, 154

E.P.16

217

1791:2

201

232,

-2:33\T;-:-Teflel-Yahuaiya:

46, 5 9

53S85 42

E.193.1902

rSS8.26S

61

5S2S3

153

E.28.1903

120

1S92.1066

52

5S57S

149

E.29.1903

95

1895330

66

59774

242

E.35.1903 236

1S95339

29

62391

70

E.6S.1903

115

1S954S2

34

65577

207

E.7ld.1903

113

1S95496

24

E.99.1903 103

1S95502

23

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

E.130.1903

2

34

1S95522 257 E.141.1903

2

34

1895550

252

E.15.1S87

233

E.202.1903 110

1S95622

44

E.157.1S91

36

E.2o8.1903 111

1912.207

206

E.160.1S91

169

E.209.1903

106

1912.320

214

E.177.1891

189

E.210.1903 110

1

912.397

212

E.34.1S96

3

E.211.1903

11

1912.401

211

E.54.1S96

73

E.212-215.1903 2

34

1912.410

209

E.73-1896

258

E.

471907

239

1912.421

1S7

E.S3.1S96

72

E.16.1909

165

1912.503

210

E.S4.1S96

78

E.22.1910

102

1912.506

215

E.S5.1S96

79

E.42.1910 88

1912.688

173 E.86.1S96

259

E-45.1910

7

1914.691 157

E.67.1S9S

65

E.l571910

226

1921.1290

50 E.70.1S98

64

E.1S2.1910 12S

1921.1322

147

E.30.1S99

256

E.12.1911

1SO

1921.1376

261

E.31.1899

256

E.13.1911

20S

192352S

S6

E.63.1899 264 E.77.1911

202

192357S

262

E.S3.1S99

9

E.27.1912

S3

1927.2114

244

E.98.1S99

127

E.52.1912

92

1932.913

L

E.105.1S99

14

. _ l _ 6 _ 6 _ ~ 1 _ 9 1 2

r S

1935167

84

E.190.1899

1S6 E.167.1912

192

193516S

S5

E.192.1899

265

E.r68.1912 1S2

1935478 243 E.201.1S99 17 E.17.1913 96

1972.1745

1S5

E.202.1S99

145

E.21.1913

2

73

E.P.22 150

179SS

116

2

55

.217.1899

129 E.67.1914

12

E.250.1S99

133

E.6S.1914

63

E.251.1S99

21

E.74.1914

250

13

12


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TECHNOLOGY:

POTTERS

KILNS

AND

CLAYS

'A potter is under (i.e. carries) clay. His life time is like

that of an animal. Dirt besmears him more than a pig

....

His clothes are stiff from dry clay, his loin-cloth is like a

rag -

thus

Papyrus Sallier rr - a school text for apprentice

scribes (trans. Holthoer,

New Kingdom

Pottery, pp. 17-18).

Potters' workshops were probably attached to all large

households, palaces

and

temples as well as villages. As

today, pottery-making may have been a seasonal activity,

determined by the rhythm of field work or taken up as

demand

required it. It was certainly a local

and

not a

centralised industry,

thus

subject to local fashions

and

needs,

but

it became specialised early, so that different

materials and techniques were used for pottery with

different functions (see 116-35).

The

potter s

raw material

was

alluvial silt from the river

or nearest canal, or the soft shale under or between the

layers of limestone rock of the desert. In Egyptian the

river valley was called the 'Black Land'

and

the desert the

Red Land , and these colours are echoed in the black-to

red firing Nile silt (grey when unfired - 14) and the

pink-to-white-to-green firing marl clays.

Before it could be shaped, the material had to be

kneaded by hand or with the

feet. In th e case of Nile silt,

straw, ash, dung or sand was added to make it less fluid;

marl clays required crushing and the addition of water to

make them malleable. The

body

material, whether marl

clay or silt, is called the

groundmass,

the material occurring

in it

inclusions.

Anything known to have been deliberately

added to the body material by the potter is called

temper.

Often, if the inclusions are straw, sand or pottery dust,

which commonly occurred in the potter s workshop, only

the number and size of particles indicate that it was a

deliberate

and

not an accidental addition to the paste.

By its

nature

Nile silt is a more homogeneous, consis

tent material than marl clay, which has been excavated

from a multitude of differentdesert sites. In the past, the

terms

Qena

and 'Ballas' (Lucas, Industries, p. 382), de

rived from two modern marl clays used in the pottery

making region of the Wadi Qena, have been applied to

marl clays. While these terms conveyed, to those familiar

with modern

Egyptian pottery, a certain quality, colour

and texture, they ought now to be abandoned, and,

however

tentatively, a more precise classification be

attempted. The groupings applied in this catalogue for

both

silt

and

marl clays were arrived

at

in discussions

during the preparation of the

Introduction

to

Ancient Egyp-

tian Pottery,

to be published shortly by the German Insti

tute of Archaeology in Cairo. A fuller description of them

will be given there than is possible here. This catalogue

has

provided the opportunity

to test

out the

groupings,

and is, in this sense, an experiment.

It

is easiest to establish broad categories of Nile silts,

and they have been divided according to the quantity

and

size of

the

particles of sand and straw present. The straw

usually burns out in firing leaving rectangular holes,

impressions or silica skeletons behind (Boodle in Mond

and Myers,

Cemeteries

of Armant, p. 188).

Nile silt A

contains fine sand of all sizes, but no visible

(under microscope X 30 magnification) straw. It s to be

identified with Nordstrom fabric IE (Nordstrom,

Neolithic and A-Group,

pp. 50-1).

Nile silt B

contains fine to coarse sand and some fine

straw.

Nile silt

C

contains sand

and

coarse straw.

The marl clays have

been

differentiatedby the character

and size of their inclusions.

Fine

Marl

A has a homogeneous groundmass with large

irregular pores originating from burnt-out carbonate

(limestone) material.

It

usually

has

a negative reaction

to HCI. The variants 2-4 are differentiated by their

varying amounts of sand and by colour.

14

Variant is light red (loR 6/6) to red 2.5YR 5/6), some

times with a pale-grey core visible in the section. There

are conspicuous fine to coarse fragments of limestone

evenly distributed in the groundmass.

h ~

limestone

has been

added

as a temper,

and

in this low-fired

variant the particles show no signs of decomposition.

Variant 2 is pink

7.5YR

8/4) to white 5Y 8/1) with a little

fine sand; dense, very hard.

Variant 3 is pale yellow 5 Y 8/3), oft en with spots of pink

from uneven firing. There qre conspicuous pores from

burnt-out limestone; more sand than variant

2.

Variant 4 is pink 7.5YR 7/4) to pale yellow 5Y 7/3),

and

there is a conspicuous quantity of fine to coarse sand,

and

sometimes a small quantity of straw.

Marl B has a homogeneous groundmass,

de._nser

than A,

containing approximately 40 fine- to coarse-textured

river

sand added

as a temper. The fracture is pink 5YR

7/4)

and the

surface gritty to the touch;

sometimesthere

is a small quantity of straw.

Marl C has a compact groundmass with numerous large

l i ~ s t o n inclusions,

in

varying stages of decomposi-

Fig. 1

tion

due

to high firing temperature. There is

up

to 10

sand

grains. The colour

in

section is

weak red

2.5YR

5/2) to light red lOR 5-6/8), and it is extremely hard.

Marl

D

has a medium-hard groundmass. There are abun

dant, up

to 25 , inclusions of limestone of all sizes,

with some fine to medium sand. There are none of the

irregular pores distinctive of Marls A and c. The colour

of the section is pale grey-brown, the surface light grey

and gritty.

Not all the pottery in the catalogue fits neatly into these

categories,

and in

these cases a brief description of the

fabric has been given.

For the clays of Nubia and the Sudan, I have adopted

the classifications of Nordstrom Neolithic

and

A-Group,

pp. 48-55), and.

Adams

W. Y

Adams

in

Kush 10

1962),

p. 249; id.,

Kush

12 (1964), pp. 129-30).

Having selected an,d prepared his clay, the next stage

for the potter is shaping. Four basic

methods

were used:

hand

modelling, moulding, using a turning device and

throwing on a wheel. The simplest and earliest method

used was

free modelling

with the

fingers 15),

and the

technique was never completely superseded but contin

ued

in use for some necropolis pottery, models, bread

moulds and large vessels, often in association with care

less finishing

and

firing techniques. After the Predynastic

period, it was not the skilled potter s method (except for

figure vases: 49, 51), but in the Sudan the tradition con

tinued much longer (193-208)

and

reached levels of skill

never surpassed by

he

wheel-using potters of Egypt. The

other common

hand

method was coiling 3), a process of

building up the vessel wall with superimposed rolls of .

clay' (A. Shepard, Ceramics for

the

Archaeologist (Washing

ton, 1968),

p.

57). Moulding, where a lump of clay was

pressed over a core, was used only for certain specialised

items, such as bread moulds 2). A much more common

technique was turning (fig. 1), where the man

on

the left is

shown supporting a pot on a block of greased wood

(?),

turning it with one.hand-while-he--finishes-off the rim of

the jar. Since the turning device he uses is without an axis

duced in throwing, but they always stop short of the

and

shoulder of the vessel

on

both the inside and outs

and sometimes the lines overlap.

The earliest certain representation of a wheel with

axis capable of producing enough centrifugal forc

allow the

potter

to

throw

dates from the V Dynasty (r

of Neuserre, 2416-2392 Be) (fig. 2). This developmen

clearly visible on the pottery from that date onwards

7). The rilling lines continue over the whole interior

face,

and

a faint spiral on the interior shows

how

potter manipulated the force generated by the rotatio

the wheel to draw the pot up. The exterior of the ve

' '

:

Fig. 2

CJ J

J

looks as if

the pot was

merely

turned,

since the ri

lines stop below the rim, and the surface is trimmed

smoothed by hand. The reason for this is that the w

was rotated by the potter himself, leaving only one

h

free to work the clay. The wheel was used, theref

during the first stage in the constrU


5/12

Fig.

4

onwards the pottery was

increasingly

thrown and the

bases

finished

on

the wheel.

The rilling lines are contin

uous

over the

exterior and interior, and

the

boundary

between

the

first stage,

when the pot was shaped, and

the second

stage, after drying,

when

the

pot

was

replaced

upside down on

the wheel

for the

trimming

off of excess

clay from

the base, becomes

less and less visible. The final

stage in wheel technology was the introduction

of

the

kick

wheel, which appears

first fig.

4)

in

reliefs from

the

Temple of

Hibis,

showing the

creator

god Khnum. They

date from the reign

of Darius, 518--485

BC. At present

it is

not

possible to

document

this

development in the pottery

itself Holthoer,

New

Kingdom

Pottery,

fig. 32,

p.

34),

although

it

may be

significant

that

ribbing as a decoration

12)

does not

appear

until

after this time.

The last

stage before firing

was the trimming

off of

the

excess clay,

the smoothing

of

the

surface

and

the

applica

tion of

decoration. Before

the

finishing processes

were

begun,

the

pot

was set

to

dry in the shade

to

evaporate

some moisture

before firing,

and until

it

was hard enough

to

be

handled without distorting

the

shape. Some

pots

never

got

beyond this stage 14). Before drying,

the potter

usually smoothed the

exterior

with

a solution of

the body

material mixed

with water;

this is called a self slip

and

sometimes

it is clearly visible 1o), covering

the

holes

on

the

surface left by

burnt-out

straw, and

sometimes

not

visible

at

all.

Our knowledge

of

hand-finishing

methods

comes

mainly

from

the period

up to

the

XVIII Dynasty; there

after,

because the

finishing

was done on the wheel,

tool

marks are

increasingly

hard

to ide-ntiy. Variou s

methods

were used

to

remove the

excess clay from

the

pot

base:

cutting with

a

blade, pinching

with

the

fingers, slicing

the

pot

off

the

parent lump

of clay

with string

fig. 5). After

this the

inside

and outside

surface

was smoothed

with

the

fingers

or

scratched

with

a stiff

brush

made

of reed.

The

care

taken

with this final

treatment

of

the

surface

Fig. 5

largely

determines

the

quality of

the

finished

product.

A

coloured

slip fine clay,

water

and

pigment) or

wash pig

ment and

water)

was often applied, sometimes

with a

brush,

to

make the

material less

porous,

to imitate

another fabric

or

material 19),

or simply

to

improve the

vessel s appearance

Mond and Myers, Cemeteries of

Armant,

pp.

182-3). The

washed or

slipped surface

was

often

rubbed

to

produce

a lustre

and

to

remove

tool

marks.

The

process was done in two

ways:

by

burnishing

with a hard,

smooth

tool, like a pebble-

and in

this case

the individual

strokes are almost always visible 4, 13) -

and

by

polishing

where

a yielding tool

such

as a cloth

was

used to create a

uniform

glossy surface Bulletin de

Liaison

1 1975),

p.

30).

L

l . J ~

Fig. 6

After

these processes were

complete and

the

pot had

been decorated

see below,

pp.

23-39) it

was ready

for

firing.

Few ancient

Egyptian kilns

have

survived,

and

even

fewer fully

recorded by

archaeologists, so

that

this

important

process still

remains in some

respects myste

rious.

The means by which the black-topped wares

of

Predynastic Egypt and

the

Kerma culture of

the

Sudan

were

produced

are

not

fully

understood

Lucas,

Indus-

tries pp. 381-2; P. Davies in JEA 48 1962),

pp.

19-24;

Nordstrom,

Neolithic and A-Group,

p.

45). Experiments

have

succeeded in

reprodtJ,cing it, but

cannot

be

cer-

tain

that

these were the methods

actually

used.

The

pots

themselves

are not-as-informative a b o _ u L f i . r i n g _ a s _ a h o u : L ~ ~ ~

shaping techniques and

clays, so

at present we must

rely

heavily

on

the

interpretation

of scenes from

the

walls

of

tombs

figs. 6, 7),

on

the

few kilns

which

survive. tigs.

8,9

and

on a study of modern

potters methods

R. Hampe

and

A.

Winter,

Bei Topfern und Topferinnen in

Kreta

Messe-

nien und Zypern

Mainz, 1962)). Successful firing r equires

16

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

sufficient

heat,

draught and oxygen to burn off

the

carbo

naceous matter in the

clay. For a

uniform

surface colour

only rarely achieved),

the

rate

and degree

of

heating had

to

be

strictly controlled,

the

stacking of

the pottery

in

the

kiln carefully

arranged and,

above all,

the pottery

protected

from

the deposition

of

soot

17). This

was

pro

bably achieved

by

separating,

and even

isolating

the

firing

chamber

from

the

hearth

and

chimney.

On

the

other hand,

the

surface could be deliberately blackened

by

bringing the pottery into

contact

with the smoke

16).

Different clays

required

different firing conditions; Nile

silt, for example,

was

fired

at

a

lower

temperature

5oo-

8oo

oc in

the

New

Kingdom:

Nordstrom in Holthoer,

New

Kingdom Pottery,

p.

62) than

marl

clays 85o-10oo oe

Nordstrom,

Neolithic and A-Group, p.

45).

1

JAR: COIL-BUILT AND

FINGER-MODELLED

Old Kingdom,

2628--2134

BC.

Shouldered

jar. Nile silt c,

reddish

yellow

5YR

6

well fired. Base coiled, rest of jar modelled

with

fingers. Exterior

roughly

shaped

with

fingers, surface

unsmoothed.

From

el-Kab, grave 3 Fitzwilliam .193.1902. Gif

Egyptian Research

Account. H: 26.5 em. D: 13.1 em.

Finger-modelling

is

the simplest

technique availabl

the potter, and

for

hundreds of

years

pots

like this

were

made

to satisfy

the everyday demands

for

potte

The shape

changed very

slowly. Like vegetable a

dried-milk tins

in

modern Egypt,

the

pots

were used

serve every

conceivable

purpose,

as the

thousands

examples

excavated from

Old Kingdom

cemeteries a

settlements show.

Cf. Quibell, El Kab pl. xii, 23; D. Arnold

in

MDAIK

1976), pl. 1,

a-b; B. Kemp in IAEP

forthcoming).

2

MOULDING

Old Kingdom,

2628--2134 BC.

Bread

mould.

Nile silt

c,

brown 7.5YR 5/4),

sm

. discolouration of surface.

Moulded

over a core, exc

clay

cut

from rim

with

knife.

Upper body smoothed

w

tool, lump of clay on

base roughly shaped with

fing

The outline of

a large

eye drawn with

finger on

in

before

firing.

From

el-Kab,

stairway tomb

5 U.C 17547. Gif

Egyptian

Research Acco unt. H: 20.0 em. D: 25.0 em

Fig.

9

The

eye-was-intended-to form a

raised sign on the

l

like

the

foliage

pattern

on

117. The core

may

have

b

simply

a

round lump

of

wood

or

stone.

The interior of

--mould-is-completely smoot .

Quibell, El Kab pls. xii, 35, xviii, 46; B. Kemp

IAEP

forthcoming); A. Eggebrecht

in MDAIK

30 19

fig. 1,

d.


6/12

i

r

I

3

2

3

BEAKER: COIL-BUILT WITH TURNED

RIM

Naqada I (late), c. 450o-4ooo Be

Tall beaker. Nile silt B, with black top on exterior only.

Rim turned, body built

up

by coiling. The individu al coils

smoothed out on inside with a knife. Surface has a weak

red (10R

4/3)

wash and has been lightly polished.

From Naqada, grave 252. Fitzwi lliam E.34.1896. Gift of

Sir Flinders Petrie. H: 32.5 em. D: 11.2 em.

Petrie, Naqada pl. xix,

B

27f; Baumgartel, Supplement

pl. x; Petrie

Corpus

pl. iv, 27f.

4 BLACK-TOPPED

FLASK

Naqada

II (early),

c.

400o-3ooo

BC.

Globular flask. Nile silt A, with black mouth and in

terior. Handmade, probably by coiling, base cut to shape.

Red 2.5YR 5/6)

wash

outside, vertically burnished.

From Naqada, grave 1449. U.C. 4129. H: 16.6 em.

D:

11.8 em.

The potter has controlled the firing with consummate

skill to achieve a striking contrast between the black top

and the red body of this flask.

Petrie, Naqada pl. xxi, 92b; Baumgartel, Supplement

pl. xliii; Petrie, Corpus pl. viii, 92b.

5

BEAKER:

COIL-BUlLT WITH TURNED

RIM

Naqada I (mid),

c.

450o-4ooo BC.

Tall beaker. Nile silt A, with black mouth. Carefully

controlled firing. Rim turned, body built

up

by coili-ngc

Red 2.5YR 5/6)

wash

outside, including base, vertically

burnished.

From Naqada, grave 1471. U.C. 5688. H: 20.4 em. D:

11.6 em.

The quality of this beaker is outstanding - the indi

vidual burnishing strokes are hardly visible, and the

4 and 5

black top most skilfully achieved. Incidentally, the potter

who made it had very large hands. The interior is quite

smooth except for a few coil joins still visible at the bot

tom, which the potter could not reach.

Petrie, Corpus pl. iii, B 22j; Baumgartel, Supplement

pl. xliv.

6

BASIN: WHEEL-THROWN,

HAND-FINISHED

Dynasty V, 2465-2325

Be

Small basin. Fine marl A, variant 1. Thrown, exterior

smoothed

with fingers from within one centimetre of

base of rim. Interior and exterior covered with red

2.5YR

5/8) slip and polished.

From Matmar, grave 3251. Fitzwilliam .210.1931. Gift

of the British Museum. H: 74 em.

D:

21.4 em.

The spiral faintly visible on the inside underneath the

thick layer of polished slip confirms that the dish was

thrown on

a wheel. This dish belongs to the class

known

as Maidum ware , so called because of the numbers

found at Maidum, around the pyramid of King Snefru

(2575-2551

Be .

For another see 87. Bowls

and

basins of

this shape, based

on

a metal prototype, are, however,

found from Dynasty III until the end of the Old Kingdom

2628--2134

Be

in a variety of fabrics, although the finest

are made in this clay.

Brunton,Matmar pl. xxix,

1;

cf. D. Arnold inMDAIK 32

(1976), pl.

4,

b; Dieter and Dorothea Arnold,

Der Tempel

Qasr el-Sagha

(Mainz, 1979), p. 32, fig. 19, 1; W. Kaiser in

E. Edel et a ., Das Sonnenheiligtum des

Konigs Userkaf

II

(Wiesbaden, 1969), p. 81, fig.

10; B.

Kemp in

IAEP

(forth

coming).

18

6 and 7 inside

6 and 7 outside

7

BOWL: WHEEL-THROWN,

HAND-FINISHED

Dynasty

XII-XIII,

from the reign of Ammenemes

III,

1844-C. 1650 BC.

Small carinated bowl. Nile silt B, light brown

7.5YR

6-5/4). Even firing. Thrown, base cut to shape with knife.

Criss-cross line design on

upper

body painted in red

pigment.

From Abydos, grave B 13b. Fitzwilliam E-45.1910. Gift

of Egypt Exploration Fund. H: 5.1 em.

D:

10.0 em.

It

is interesting to compare this bowl with 6, from the V

Dynasty (2465-2325), close to the beginning of the adop- .

tion of a throwing technique. The difference is most ob-

8

8

JAR: THROWN AND FINISHED ON

THE WHEEL

Dynasty

XVIII,

reign of Amenophis I 1526-1505

BC

Bag-shaped jar. Nile silt B. Thrown, major point m

boundary between first and second stages of throw

Exterior covered

with red

2.5YR 5/6)

wash

applied

w

brush. Eight groups of three short incised lines, prob

for decoration.

From Abydos, grave E310. Fitzwilliam .103.1900.

of Egyptian Research Account. H: 19.7 em. D: 11.8

There are

many

unpublished objects from E310, da

from XIII Dynasty (Garstang,

El

Arcibah pl. xxvii) to

early XVIII Dynasty.

Cf. Brunton

and

Engelbach,

Gurob

pl. xxxiv, 24 B (w

out black lip).

vious in the handling of the exterior of the vessel:

hand

9

JAR

WITH A KNIFE-TRIMMED BASE

finishing begins within one centimetre of the base of the Dynasty XIII, 1785-c. 1650 BC.

rim in the earlier dish, whereas only the base is trimmed Globular jar. Fine marlA, variant4, pale yel low (5Y

by hand in the later example. Such distinctions are very Thrown, excess clay cut off with knife from below--m

useful to the archaeologist, since they provide additional point. Incised line just above maximum diameter.

criteria for dating. The decoration perhaps imitates the From Hu, grave Y 47 Fitz william E;8y:r899:-Gi

woven linen slings in which pottery was often carried. Egypt Exploration Fund. H: 18.0 em. D: 12.4 em.

The bowl was used as a drinking cup, like others in the The excavator's notes reveal that the only other ob

same fabric. --------from-grave Y 47 were a tiny carrre-Iian-scarab-and-

Peet,

Cemeteries ofAbydos

II, pl. xxix, B

13;

J. Bourriau in Egyptian faience and one carnelian bead now n the R

IAEP (forthcoming); for base,

cf.

D. Arnold in MDAIK

32

Ontario Museum B 173).

(1976), pl. 8, c-d. Petrie, Diospolis Parva pl. xxxvi, 168.


7/12

9 and 1

1

JAR WITH

A

SCRATCHED BASE

First Intermediate period to early Dynasty

XII,

2134-1892

BC.

Bag-shaped jar. Nile silt C, reddish brown 5YR 513).

Unevenly fired. Thrown, excess clay scratched away with

a reed

brush

from major point. Incised potmark

made

after firing.

Fitzwilliam E.P.178. H: 15.9 em.

D:

13.6 em.

There is a clear

boundary

between the

upper

body,

which was

wet-smoothed

by applying a

thin

slip of the

body material or simply water while the pot was still on

the wheel- the potter's fingerprints are still visible-and

the roughly scratched lower body. The jar is in the clearly

defined Upper Egyptian style.

For form, cf Petrie,

Dendereh

pl. xviii, 191; for style, D.

Arnold in MDAIK 28 (1972), pp. 43-6.

MINIATURE VASE

SLICED

OFF THE

WHEEL

WITH

STRING

Dynasty XVIII,

reign of Amosis, 1551-1526 JlC

Model vase. Nile silt B, light brown

7.

5

YR 6/

4). Slightly

warped. Thrown, sliced from the wheel with a piece of

string and left untrimmed.

From Abydos, foundation deposit of Ahmose. Fitzwil

liam .211.1903. Gift of Egypt Explorati on Fund. H: 55

em. D: 57 em.

Foundation deposit pottery, which was votive

and

never intended for use, was generally very carelessly

made (see 234-5).

Ayrton

eta .,

Abydos III, p. 34, pl. xlvii, 84.

11

20

12

and 13

12 JAR: RIBBED ON THE

WHEEL

Coptic period, late 4th-7th century AD.

Small carinated squat jar. Nile silt

B,

with large lime

stone inclusions, reddish brown

2.5YR

4/4). Even, high

firing up to 900 oc. Thrown, vessel wall dented with the

thumb

at regular intervals. Surface ribbed on the wheel

above carination,

band

of white

wash around

rim

and

four irregular spots of white around shoulder, overlaid

with black pigment, applied with finger.

From Abydos, Coptic settlement. Fitzwilliam

E.67.1914. Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund. H: 8.9 em.

D:

10.9 em.

The original firing temperature is indicated by the

condition of the limestone inclusions, which show signs

of decomposition, and this starts to happen at tempera

tures

close to 900

oc.

The ribbing is simply

an

exaggera

tion for decorative effect of the rilling lines, made by

applying slight pressure to the surface while the

pot

is

rotating. The thumb indentations are found commonly

on pottery of the Roman to early Coptic period s (see 215),

and

may have been adopted in imitation of imported

Roman wares. A late Roman lamp T. E. Peet

and

W.L.S.

Loat,, The

Cemeteries

of Abydos (London, 1913),

III,

pl. xiv,

8)

from the Coptic settlement at Abydos suggests the

lower limit given for the dating of this jar.

Cf. Mond and Myers,

Temples of Armant

pl. lix, 545c;

for decoration, cf ibid., pl.lxxviii, PA b

B22;

for the Coptic

settlement at Abydos, Peet, op. cit., p. xi.

13

BEAKER:

BURNISHED

ON

THE

WHEEL

Napatan, reigns of Piankhy to Amtalqa, 747-555

Be.

Beaker. Fine Nile silt. Thrown, pale red (loR

6/4)

wash

inside and outside, burnished on the wheel.

From Sanam opposite Gebel Barkal in the Sudan,

grave

1422. Fitzwilliam.126.1921. Gift ofF. Ll Griffith. H: 12.3

em.

D:

9.1 em.

F.

Ll Griffith in LAAA

10

(1923), p. 100, pl. xviii, xnj.

14

MINIATURE

VASE:

SUN

-DRIED NILE

SILT

Dynasty XVIII, up to the reign of Tuthmosis III, 1551-

1436 BC.

Model jar. Nile s lt

B,

sun-dried,

but

not fired, grey

(gley

5Y

5h .

Thrown,

left untrimmed.

From Hu, grave

Y28.

Fitzwilliam E.105.1899. Gift of

Egypt Exploration Fund. H: 54 em.

D:

5.1 em.

Since it has not been fired, the fabric of this vase is very

soft, and handling has distorted the shape, making it

even more asymmetrical.

The excavator's notes show that Y 8 was an XVIII

Dynasty tomb containing at least three burials

and

pot

tery which included Petrie,

Diospolis Parva

pl. xxxv, 110.

15

THUMB

POT: SMOKE-STAINED

NILE

SILT

Naqada

II

(middle), c. 4000-3000 BC.

Small beaker. Nile silt

c,

dark

brown

7.5YR 4l2); low,

uneven firing, covered with grey smoke patches. Entirely

modelled with fingers. Surface has vertical lines of

triangular notches impressed into wet clay with a gouge.

From Matmar, grave 2712. Fitzwilliam .10.1931. Gift

of the British Museum. H: 8.o em.

D:

7.8 em.

This simple pot came from a child's grave, and was

perhaps made by the child himself in view of the clumsy

modelling and firing. However, Guy Brunton, the ex

cavator writing in 1937, described it as showing 'some

alien and more primitive influence', implying that it was

related to the incised wares of the Sudan.

Brunton,

Matmar

p. 18, pl. xiii, 2.

16

DOUBLE VASE: NILE SILT FIRED

BLACK

Naqada II (late), c. 4000-3000

Be.

Small broad-shouldered vases with horizontal barrel

lug handles. Nile silt A, black to dark reddish brown 5

YR

3l2). Deliberately fired black by introducing smoke into

kiln. Handmade probablyby free modelling in two parts,

body and rim. Base cut to shape, handles applied asym

metrically. Surface vertically burnished.

Fitzwilliam E.2.1980. Gift of the Frien ds of the Fitz

william Museum. H: 99 em. D each pot: 6.6 em.

The colour and the shape imitate vases made of black

basalt which were used, as this one probably was, to

contain cosmetics. The colour is due to soot, created by

smoking fuel, or by the decomposition of carbon material

(organic inclusions) in the paste. Whether the soot was

created

in

the initial firing

by

reducing the supply of

oxygen to the kilh, or

m

a secona.-finng;is uncertain

(Nordstrom, Neolithic

and

A-Group p. 45).

A pot of this shape was found at Naqada in grave 684

(Ashnioleah VfU.Seum 1895.509)

and

suggests the date

given here.

Cf. Petrie,

Corpus

pl. xvii, F44; J. Crowfoot-Payne in

IAEP (forthcoming), Group D, Polished Black Wares.

21

16

17

JAR: WELL-FIRED NILE SILT

Middle Kingdom, up to the reign of Sesostris II, 2

1897

BC.

Globular jar with quinquefoilmouth. Nile silt

B,

e

fired to

high

temperature. Thrown in two parts, join

shoulder, finger-smoothed from major point to re

excess clay, rim pinched in with fingers. Red (

10

R4/8

applied

with brush

to outside

and

interior of

polished. Band of clay applied to cover shoulder join

pressed with fingertips into a 'pie crust' design.

Probably from Dendera . Fitzwilliam .201.1899 G

Egypt Exploration Fund. H 10.3 em. D: 11.0 em.

The red core, visible in a small chip in the rim, an

hardnessof this jar indicate that it has been fired to a

temperature.

Eggebrecht in

Kunstgeschichte

p. 356, fig. 348b.

18

AN ACCIDENT

OF FIRING

Naqada III, c. 3000 BC.

Cylinder vase. Nile silt B, surface colour ranges

purple black to weak red (7.5R 4/4). Fired to the po

vitrification

and

collapse. Handmade, turned rim,

cut with a tool. A V-shaped potmark cut on the base

wet clay.

Possibly from Giza. U.C. 17538. H: 21.6 em. D: 12.

A

sudden

gust of

wind

or the careless stoking o

may be the cause of uneven heating in the kiln, and

overfiring. At a temperature above

900

oc vitrific

starts to occur. In Nile silt, the material begins to s

and

melt

and

glass to form.

It

s possible that the vit

tion took place much later as the res ult of a fire. The

on the vessel would be the same.

18


8/12

21

19 and

20

19

CYLINDER JAR OF MARL

CLAY

IMITATING

ALABASTER

Naqada III to Dynasty

II c.

3000-2628 BC.

Cylinder jar. Fine marl

A,

variant

4;

even firing. Hand

made, probably coil-built, rim turned, inside smoothed

with

fingers. Exterior coated with self slip, pale yellow

5 Y 2/3), p olished with cloth. String pressed into the wet

clay to produce wavy line on upper body.

From Hiera konpolis, grave 115. Fitzwilliam E.286.1900

(formerly E.P.62). Gift of Egyptian Resear ch Account. H:

22.5 em.

D:

10.0 em.

This jar demonstrates how successfully Egyptian pot

ters could achieve the qualities of stone in their

own

medium (Mond and Myers,

Cemeteries of Armant

p. 501).

It required carefulmanipulating of the surface to remove

all tool and finger marks, and steady, even firing produc

ing

a uniform colour. Nordstrom Neolithic and A-Group

pp. 66-7) suggests that a wash of calcium compounds

may have been applied as an alternative to a slip of the

body material.

These jars were

used

for storage of substances such as

cheese or ointment which needed to be kept cool. For the

source of the wavy line decoration, see 257-60.

Cf. Petrie, Tarkhan, r, pp. 2-3, pl. xlix, 49d; II pl. xxviii,

46j; for grave 115, Quibell

and

Green, Hierakonpolis, II pl.

lxix, 4; Adams,

Hierakonpolis,

p. 49, no. 261, pl. 34; id.,

Supplement

p. 90.

Fitzwilliam E.P.7. H: 18.3 em. D: 12.5 em.

The decorative burnishing, like So, which is in the same

fabric, is characteristic of this period. The shape derives

from flasks made of leather - there is an actual example

from Beni Hasan, grave 183 (Garstang, Burial Customs

fig. 128,

c)

and a limestone relief from a tomb of Dynasty

Vat Saqqara showing a thirsty harvester lifting one to his

lips (Brunner-Traut, Die Alten Agypter p. 91, 26).

Cf. J. Crowfoot-Payne in IAEP (forthcoming), Group

D, Hard Pink Polished Wares;

D.

Arnold in

Lexikon der

Agyptologie Gefasse.

21

JAR OF SO-CALLED QENA CLAY

First Intermediate period, 2134-2040

BC.

Squat jar. Fine marl

A,

variant 3, pale yellow 5Y 8/4).

Thrown,

excess clay trimmed from base with knife.

From Dendera, grave 271. Fitzwilliam E.251.1899 Gift

of Egypt Exploration Fund. H: 14.8 em. D: 12.2 em.

Petrie, Dendereh, pl. xviii, 187; Eggebrecht in Kunst

geschichte,

p. 355, fig. 346b.

22

22

JAR IN

A

COARSE SANDY MARL

CLAY

Second Intermediate period (early),

c.

1650-1551

BC.

Bag-shaped jar with narrow ring foot. Gritty marl

B,

pale yellow 5Y 7/3). Thrown, finished on the wheel,

handmade ring foot applied to base. Rim impressed by

the fingers with pie crust motif. Group of six zigzag lines

with

six straight lines

on

either

sideincised

in

wet

clay

with pointed tool while vessel still on the wheel.

From Hu, grave Y 43 Fitzwilliam E.161.1902. Gift of

Egypt Exploration Fund.

H

11.9 em.

D:

10.3 em.

This is one of the vessels

that

help to

pinpoint

the date

2

FLASK

OF

MARL

CLAY WITH

LIMESTONE INCLUSIONS

---of- the

application of new techniques in the use

ofrt. .h-- e

Dynasties I-III, 3000-2628 Be.

Globular flask. Fine marl A, variant

1.

Handmade (in

terior invisible), turned rim, joined to neck, base cut to

shape. Regular, vertical burnishing strokes on surface,

which is red

2.5YR

5/6).

22

wheel. The lower body of the jar was finished on the

wheel,

but

the ring base was made separately following

the

traditional

method

of

the

Old

and

Middle kingdoms

(D. Arnold, MDAIK 32 (1976), p. 31, fig. 18). Turnin g the

pot on the wheel while decorating it was also an innova

tion and, moreover, suggests that the potter

had

both

hands free to work, i.e. that he

had

already acquired the

assistant who appears in the tomb paintings of the early

XVIII Dynasty turning the wheel. The only other object

from grave

Y343

known to me is an alabaster vase in

Glasgow;

the

excavator s notes unfortunately do

no

vive. The shape, decorationand fabric, however, dat

jar unequivocally to the early Second Interme

period.

2 DECOR TION

INTRODUCTION

Decoration was generally carried

out

before a

pot

was

fired, when it was freshly shaped or, more often, when

the surface had dried until it was leather hard. The fol

lowing techniques were used, employing a variety of

tools, the most popular being the potter s fingers and

nails: incision and impression, applied and raised relief,

coating with a slip or wash, painting (both monochrome

and

polychr6me). Frequently a combination of decorative

techniques was

used.

For example, incised patterns

were

filled with coloured pigment, or motifs modelled in relief

were then

painted; different techniques

were used,

for

very wide, although the same categories remain thro

out: geometric patterns, floral designs, animal

human

figures-

with a notable exception in some o

scenes on Naqada II pottery (see 33), which may b

cords of particular events. Variety appears in the c

ing

interpretation of the motifs

under

the influen

different pottery-making techniques, materials, de

tive techniques and shapes.

INCISED AND BURNISHED

ORNAMENT

separate elements in the design, for example 52, where The particular character of this ornament

up

to the i

the surface has an incised linear motif and the attributes tion of the wheel in Dynasty V

was

that it covere

of the goddess Hathor are attached to the surface in whole vessel surfaces. Sometimes two techniques

applied relief. used together 25) where panels of burnishing we

There is a division among decorat ed vessels which is so against a zone

with

incised pattern.

It

is no acciden

basic that it is hard to believe that vessels of both kinds the finest examples of these techniques are the prod

could have been made by the same potter. In the first pre-wheel potters. They were most inventive in ma

group are zoomorphic

and

anthropomorphic v s s ~ l s lating vessel surfaces. With the introduction of thro

which require a sculptural technique

and

in which the the

potter s

contact

with

his material was changed

original vessel shape has become subordinated in favom haps one might say it became less intimate. Pottery

of an identity as an object. In the second group, to which struction became faster, more routine, and this in

the majority of vessels belong, only the vessel surface has naturally affected decoration (seep. 51).

been

treated

or manipulated to provid e decoration. In Incised or impressed white-filled ornament has a

this category it is possible to observe changes in the part longer tradition in Nubia than in Egypt, and fo

of the vessel which the potter chose to ornament. reason has been considered to show Nubian infl

In the Predynastic period decoration of the whole sur- wherever

and whenever

it occurs. However, to

face is most usuai,whereas-later,visibility became a that point,-the-decoration-needs-to occur-in conjun

criterion, so that in the case of large jars only the shoulder with other Nubian traits, such as hand manufact

and

neck,

and

in the

open

forms, only the rim were dung-tempered Nile silt fabrics. A puzzling group,

decorated:

fhe-use

of the

whole

surface-forde-coration---i:sfourrdirrN

aqada

II

gravesirrEgypta.n-d-Nubia-;-

combined with the exploitation of the vessel shape in share a few motifs (even a complicated rim-top d

pattern design remains a characteristic of Nubian pottery tion) with local Nubian wares but in fabric and tech

of all periods (193-208). The choiee of motifs is natur ally belong

in

the Egyptian tradition.

23


9/12

i

L

110

From Beni Hasan, grave 868. Ashmolean E.4153- Gift of

Beni Hasan Excavation Committee. H: 10.3 em.

D: 8.

5 em.

Cf. Petrie, Qurneh pl. xx, 596; for Beni Hasan grave 868

alone, Garstang,

Burial

Customs p. 242.

11

TWO JARS

Dynasti es XI-XII, to

end

of reign of Sesostris II, 2040-1878

BC.

Slender shouldered jars. Nile silt c, reddish yellow

5YR 6/6), originally covered with red wash. Thrown,

from major point modelled with fingers. Incised lines on

neck possibly to

support

a carrying rope.

From Beni Hasan, grave 365. a. Fitzwilliam E.202.1903.

H: 22.7cm. D: 10.1 em.

b

E.210.1903. H: 25.1 em. D: 11.0

em. Gift of Beni

Hasan

Excavation Committee.

These two water jars of the Lower Egyptian type are

very much alike, and their common fabric, technique and

provenance indicate that they were made in the same

workshop, possibly even

by

the same potter. They differ

considerably, however, in their dimensions, and as a

result have quite different proportions. In view of their

common characteristics, one can say that this is probably

due to no more than that the

potter

broke off a slightly

larger lump of clay to make the second jar. This highlights

the caution with which the archaeologist has to approach

the shape

classification of such jars. They are undoubt

edly the same s hape although they do nothave the same

measurements. The vertical mark on b is not a deliberate

potmark

but

a slip of the potter s fingernail.

Garstang,

Burial

Customs pl. xiii, 25.

111

PLATE

Dynastie s XI-XII, to

end

of reign of Sesostris II, 2040-18

7

8

BC.

N i ~ e silt c,

~ e d

~ - 5 Y R 5/6). Handmade, the strip of clay

formmg the sides fitted

on

to a prepared, finger-modelled

base.

From Beni Hasan, grave 427. Fitzwilliam E.2o8.1903.

Gift of Beni Hasan Excavation Committee. H: 2.3 em. D:

18.6 em.

The plate is exceptionally crudely made,

in the

Beni

Hasan style . No attempt has been made to smooth out

the finger marks, and it became warped in firing.

112

112

POTSTAND

Dynasties XI-XII, to

end

of reign of Sesostris II, 2134-

1878 BC.

Tubular stand, with applied figure of a naked woman.

Nile siltc, brown (7.5YR5/4)with a few traces of red wash

on the figure. Thrown in two parts, joined just below rim,

surface scratched to remove excess clay. Figure modelled

with fingers, details incised. Except for a small section,

almost all of the rim is now missing.

From Beni Hasan. Fitzwi lliam E.18o.1go2. Gift of Beni

~ ~ H _ . . . a . san Excavation Committee. H: 35 9 em. D_:_J;J_._8_cm_.

_____

_

110

and 111

62

This tall stand was intended to supporta dish or plate,

serving the function of our old-fashioned cakestands. t s

in

the

unmistakable Beni

Hasan

style,

and

the

applied

figure of a

woman

cannot

be

paralleled except from that

site. The figure itself, with its emphatic genitalia, relates

to statuettes in a variety of materials and techniques -

some even cruder than this - found in both graves and

settlements of this time. They have been euphemistically

called dolls ,

but

their sexual significance is now acknow

ledged (240, 241).

They

may also

have

been charms to

make or keep a woman fertile.

Garstang, Burial Customs fig. 205; G. D. Hornblowerin

JEA

15

(1929), p. 41.

113 TOMB MODEL

SHOWING

BAKING

AND

-BREWING

Middle Kingdom, to end of reign of Sesostris

II,

2040-

1878 BC.

Painted wood, linen and clay.

From Beni Hasan, tomb 366. Fitzwillia m E.71d.1903.

Gift of Beni Hasan Excavation Committee. H: 18.5 em.

D:

29.7 em. L: 41.4 em.

The model shows women grinding

and

sifting flour, a

man

mixing the

dough

with a pestle

and

mortar,

and

a

woman tending a pile of loaves baking in their moulds

116). Another group are making beer, using a method

still

pradised

in Egypt to produce beer, in Arabic appro

priately called buzeh Loaves of

bread

are

passed through

a sieve into huge pottery vats and date essence and large

amounts ofwater are added. The vats are covered and the

contents left to ferment. Finally, the beer is decanted into

large jars, which are sealed with a mud stopper. The

model shows men bringing water, a man sieving the

bread and the sealed beer jar.

Bread

and

beer are invariably mentioned in the offering

formula 114) recited for the dead, and denote all food. In

an

economy

without

money, all

payments were made in

kind, so wages were often calculated in quantities of beer

and

bread. By placing a model of his servants brewing

and baking for him in his tomb, the deceased could by

magic guarantee for himself

an

eternal supply of lif

necessities, and we in turn are given a glimpse of

a

ro

of ordinary Egyptians at work, people who only rare

appear in the written

and

archaeological records of th

time.

Garstang, Burial Customs pp. 127-8, fig. 124; for be

making, W. Helck, Das Bier bei den a/ten Agyptern (Berl

1971).

114 STELA OF THE

LADY

SENT

Dynasty XII, reign of Ammenemes Ill, 1844-1797 Be.

Painted

limestone funerary stela of Sent, daughter

Hepy.

Fitzwilliam E.SS.14. H: 22.2 em. D: 20.3 em.

This stela was probably set

up in

a small chapel n

Sent s tomb, to encourage visitors to leave offerings

o

least to recite the formula for herbenefit. Although it do

not come from Beni Hasan, it s typical of a modest priv

funerary

monument

of that time

and

place. The form

is an abbreviated version of the one common in

Middle Kingdom, and consists of a request for tho

.sands of bread and beer, oxen and fowl-for the decea

Sent,

born

of

Hepy

(mother). Sent is shown wearin

fine linen dress with broad shoulder straps, ornamen

with alternate black and red (much-faded) zigzags, a he

wig

and

full complement of

jewellery-

necklace, arm

and

anklets. She stands sniffing a]otU:s,

an

attitude wl:

suggested to the ~ g Y J l t i a n s _ : : ~ a ) ~ t i o n and ~ o n t e n t m e n

and

before her is a table piled high with food offerin

There are vegetables painted black- lettuce, cucumb

spring

onions;

bread and

C(lkes-also

r i g ~ n a l l y

black;

a

joints of meat including the leg of an ox. Underneath

table are two sealedwine or beer jars ( f.

133),

painted

with

a black stripe across the shoulder. Black stripes


10/12

237 front

Nile silt

c,

brown

7.5YR

5/4). Handmade, modelled

with the fingers, arm applied, base trimmed with a knife,

details incised. Exterior covered with thin red (loR 5/6)

wash.

Hole pierced in base

with

a stick before firing.

From Beni Hasan, grave 187. FitzwilliamE.35.1903. Gift

of Beni

Hasan

Excavation Committee. H: 14.7 em.

D:

79

em.

This remarkably crude figure

cf. 112)

is a pottery ver

sion of a figure of a servant grinding corn (113). Models of

servants engaged in preparing bread or other basic foods

were placed in tombs to guarantee the deceased s future

supply. The activity,

not the person

engaged

in

it,

was

the potter s concern. The lower part has been trimmed so

as to suggest that the figure originally fitted into a recep

tacle of some kind,

and

the hole in the base may be

connected with such a purpose.

Garstang,

urial

Customs p. 219; cf. ibid. pl. xi, fig. 204,

centre.

237 SERVANT FIGURE

Dynasty VI, 2325-2150 Be.

Squatting

man

presenting the

head

of

an

ox. Nile silt

B,

red 2.5YR 5/6). Handmade, modelled with fingers and

trimmed with knife.

Fitzwilliam E.186.1939. Gift of G. D. Hornblower.

H

13.2 em. D: 79 em.

The potter has taken care to impart some individuality

to this servant figure, which like 236 was intended to

237 back

ensure

a continuous supply of food offerings for the

dead. The head of an ox represents

meat

offerings. The

squatting man has hollow cheeks and a small pointed

beard, and his ribcage and vertebrae are clearly deline

ated. The purpose may have been to suggest an old man,

or perhaps,

taking into account similar figures, a desert

nomad emaciated by his harsh life. The pointed beard

encourages the idea that a foreigner is represented. There

is a close parallel to this figure in the Royal Scottish

Museum (1954.10; I am g r t ~ f u l to Edward Brovarski for

the reference and for notice of a wooden figure in the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts) in which the squatting man

carries the

head

of

an

ox

on

his back. Like the Fitzwilliam

example, it has no provenance. The pose of both figurines

is unusual, perhaps unique, and this is the main reason

for a lingering doubt in the writer s mind of their authen

ticity.

Cf. a wooden figure in Berlin Museum (22754),

Brunner-Traut,

Die Alten Agypter

pl. 78.

238 TRAY OF FOOD OFFERINGS

First Intermediate period, 2134-2040 Be.

Nile silt

c, brown

7.5YR 5/4). Handmade, modelled

with fingers, some elements applied to surface. Interior

covered

with

thick

weak red

(7.5R 5/4) slip.

Fitzwilliam E.15.1950. Given by t he family of F. W.

Green. H: 10.7 em. D: 28.0 em.

L:

41.0 em.

This object appears to be a curious combination of a

118

238

tray with

model

food- two oxen

bound

ready for butcher

ing, a cucumber, a cos lettuce, three loaves (two round

and one oval), a dish of figs and a leg of meat can be

recognised- and

a house. The house has one storey

and

an open staircase to the roof, on which there is a canopy.

The ground floor has an open portico supported by two

pillars: there is a bench inside

and

another against the

wall of the courtyard. Such trays evolved as substitutes

for stone offering-tables which

were

carved with images

of food and held troughs for water. The tables may have

suggested the courtyards of houses, which also held

water tanks and storage space for food, and this idea may

have been the startingpoint for the evolution of the trays.

The trays were placed at the mouth of tomb shafts and

provided

both

perpetual offerings

and

a dwelling place

for the

deceased s soul. They offer

us

a glimpse of living

conditions not unlike those of a modern Egyptian village.

Food preparation takes place in the open, in the court

yard, which is walled for shade

and

protection from the

wind, not privacy, or on the roof under an awning. The

house has no windows but an open portico, and is very.

sparsely furnished.

Cf. Petrie,

Gizeh pp.

14-16, pl. xv, 106.

239 SOUL HOUSE

Dynasty XII, up to reign of Sesostris II, 1991-1897 Be.

Nile silt c, red (lOR 4/6). Handmade, modelled with

fingers and tools.

From Rifeh. Fitzwilliam E 47.1907. Gift of British School

most elaborate form. The house has developed at

expense of the courtyard, though this still contains all

necessary food offerings - triangular and circular lo

of bread, a cos lettuce,

and

the head of an ox. The ho

has two storeys

with

the usual

open

staircase to the r

but

the potter has provided details of its internal st

ture, a dividing wall on the ground floor and a r

supporting beam on the first. He presumably did thi

his

own

satisfaction, for the details are almost invis

from outside.

Petrie, Gizeh p. 18, pl. xviiiA.

24

CONCUBINE OF THE DEAD

Dynasty XII to Second Intermediate period, 1991-1

BC.

Fine marlA, variant 3, pale yellow 5Y 8/3). Handm

arms applied. Details of body in applied and inc

relief.

Fitzwilliam E.188.1939. Gift of G. D. Hornblowe r

12.2 em. D: 43 em.

These figures have in the past often been describe

dolls ,

but

their sexual purpose is unmistakable.

woman

is

shown naked

except for a bead girdle;

wears an elaborate tripartite hairstyle fashionable in

Middle Kingdom and a necklace and has tattoos on

navel

and

buttocks.

Her

nose is suggested,

but

other

no facial features are marked, and she has no feet.

The figure appears carelessly made, but the steat

gous buttocks are skilfully modelled. The lack of atten

to minor features such as the face and feet is delibe

of Archaeology

in

Egypt. H: 28.5 em.

D:

33.0 ciiLL_

___

38.5 em.

The combination of dwelling for the deceased s soul

and offering table has in this example cf. 238) achieved its

119

239


11/12

I

I

I

l

The figure belongs to a large class - some much more

elaborate-

made of painted wood, stone or faience, and

some much cruder, mere lumps of clay scratched to indi

cate breasts

and

genitalia. Theywere made with the same

intention as the models of food, the servant figures,

and

the model houses that, animated by magic, they might

serve the needs of the deceased in the next world.

Since they are not found exclusively in men s graves,

they may during the roughly

400

years in which they are

found have become a purely conventional part of the

equipment for burial. They may also have served women

as emblem s of fertility. Some of their characteristics, such

as tattooing, steatopygous figure and rudimentary arms

and legs, reappear later in perfume flasks of the XVIII

Dynasty representing Nubian women.

Cf.

Randall

Maclver

and

Mace,

El

Amrah

pl.

L,

o8.)

G. D. Hornblower, in JEA 15 (1929), pl. ix, 1-2;

cf.

Petrie,

Diospolis Parva

pl. xxvi; D. Downes,

The Excava-

tions at

Esna

1905-1906 (Warminster, 1974), pp. 86-8.

241 CONCUBINE

OF THE

DEAD

Second Intermediate period to early Dynasty XVIII, 165o-

1500 BC.

Nile silt B, light

reddish

yellow

(5YR

6/4).

Handmade,

arms applied. Details of body in applied and incised

relief.

Fitzwilliam E.1.1981. Beq uest of Miss P. M. Cook;

formerly Professor

A. B.

Cook collection.

H

17.5 em.

D:

4.0cm.

This figurine served the same purpose as 240. The hair

style was originally very elaborate: pieces of string (re

presenting plaits) threaded with blobs of clay were sus

pended

from holes in the disc-shaped head. This feature

and

the

holes

in the

earlobes for earrings, which were

introduced during Dynasty XII, indicate that the date

may be a little later than

240.

Cf. Wainwright, Balabish pl. xix, B 154; D. Downes,

The Excavations at Esna 1905-1906 (Warminster, 1974),

pp. 86-8.

120

15 TRADE

As containers for products traded by barter in the Nile

valley

and

far beyoi d it, pottery became distributed far

from its place of manufacture. Foreign pottery coming to

the Nile valley influenced the output of Egyptian and

Sudanese

potters

and

vice versa, both directly by en

couraging imitation and generally by changing

demand

helping to create fashions. In the past the extent of inter

national trade was often underestimated, and it was too

readily assumed that the presence of foreign pottery im

plied the existence of a colony. Pendlebury for example

was convinced that a community of Myceneans must

have lived at Amarna to account for the quantity of Myce

nean

pottery found

there. Where. the foreign pottery

types are restricted- as is usually the case- to storage jars

or luxury items such as perf ume flasks - and table-ware

and

cooking pottery are not present - trade is the most

likely .explanation for its presence.

Wine was the most important commodity in internal

Nile valley commerce, since its manufacture was limited

to certain areas - principally the Delta

and

oases. One

would like to know more about the source of the wine

from the south enjoyed by the Lady Nodjmet

(242)

The

filling

and

sealing of jars was a skilled affair.

One

of the

wine jars-found in the tomb ofTutankhamun

had

cracked

through internal pressure. It has been suggested that the

heat of the tomb stimulated fermentation. Many wine jars

were reused, so analyses of contents - in itself very dif

ficult because of the chemieal changes which have taken

The foreign pottery

and

its contents may have bee

destined in the first place for the royal storerooms, b

they didn t stay there. At Amarna for example a scatter

Mycenaean sherds was found all over the city's centr

area in slums as well as in the villas of the wealthy. A

Sidmant in a group of

38

modest graves of the mid

XV

to early XIX Dynasty

c.

145o-1300 Be) belonging to th

minor official class, about one-third of the burials co

tained imported pottery from Syriaand Cyprus (256, 25

250) (Petrie and Brunton,

Sedment

n, pl. lxiii). Officiall

as

payment

for services, commodities must have pass

rapidly from the palace via the households of

high

o

ficials to the general populace, but there was probab

also a direct exchange between foreigners and Egyptia

- the harbour scene from the tomb of Nebamun show

small booths set

up

along the quayside.

The demand for incense, aromatic oils and resins im

ported from the Levant was very great. To be swee

smelling was an important attribute of beauty - at ba

quets men and women

wore

scented cakes of wax o

their wigs. The presence of a god was announced by h

sweet smell. Scented oils and ointments were a vi

ingredient in

mummification

and in

burial equipmen

This characteristic of Egyptian manners existed even

Predynastic times, and it is likely that the same ne

stimulated the early trade with Palestine.

place since the deposition of the jar- have not yet pro-

242

DELTA WINE

vided much useful information. FOR THE

LADY

NODJMET

Exchange of goods

between

regions of Egypt was al-. Late

Dynasty

XVIII-Dynasty XIX, c. 134o-1300 BC.

ways to a greater or lesser extent controlled by royal Slender shouldered jar with matc hing lid. Nile silt

officials (245), and in international trade royal control was uneven firing. Thrown in four sections, joined at base

even tighter. In the written records of Egypt all foreign neck, middle ofbody

and

top of foot. Exterior vessel a

goods brought to the king were described as tribute, but lid covered with pink

(7.5YR 7/4)

slip applied with brus

in reality an exchange took place, as the Amarna letters, Painted decoration in blue with dark red outlines consi

an archive of letters to Pharaoh from the rulers of Ana- ing of plain bands alternating with pendant leaf a

-tolia, Syria

and

Palestine, show. Great officials such as lotus bands. Hieroglyphic inscription in black

arou

Nebamun, mayor of Thebes and overseer of the granary shoulder.

of Amun d u r i n g - t h e - r e i g n - o f - A m e n o p h i s - H I - ( 1 L f 0 2 ~ t 3 6 4 British Museum-59774-:-Formerly Macgregor collectio

Be), received the goods in the king's place. Among the H excluding lid: 595 em. D: 20.8 em. Lid: H: 22.0 em.

scenes depicting his official duties painted on the walls of 18.3 em.

--his tomb is one-showing

the

arrival of a Syrian-bua:t;-Ure--'fhe-irrs-cription reads

D e l t < c w t n e o r r l l : e e > s i r i s

clearly Syrian sailors unloading her, and the merchant in deceased] Nodjmet'. The lady was well provided wi

charge presenting himself to

an

Egyptian official on the wine for the next-world. This vase belongs to a set of

quayside. leastfour, two containing Delta wine and two containi

121


12/12

wine from the south. Wallis, in his catalogue

ofpartofthe

Macgregor collection written in 1898, described these

vases as the most important decorated Egyp.tian un

glazed vases

yet

discovered . This one

was bought

in 1922

at the Macgregor sale for 145.

The wine may have been the Ancient Egyptian equiva

lent of a Beaujolais Villages . Vintage wines seem to have

been

the prerogative of the king - as this one of King

Tutankhamun,

Year 5 Sweet wine of the

House

of

Aton

of the Western River. Chief vintner Nakht suggests.

Detailed labels of this type are rare for wine destined for

private persons.

British Museum Quarterly 5 (1930-1), p. 50, pl. xxii, b;

Sotheby s sale catalogue,

26

June to 6 July 1922, no. 1733,

pl. li, there incorrectly captioned 1736 ; Ancient Egyptian

rt

(Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1922), p. 64, pl.

xxxv; Wallis, Ceramic Art 1898, p. 34, pl. xv; L. H. Lesko,

King Tut s Wine Cellar (Berkeley, 1977), p. 30.

243 DELTA WINE FOR NUBIA

5th-6th

century AD.

Broad

amphora with

vertical handles. Marl clay, yellow

(2.5Y 7/4) and red 2.5YR 5/8) in section (Adams

u3,

formerly Christian Nubian Ware 23). Thrown in at least

2

43

122

two parts, joined at base of neck, handles applied, surface

ribbed. Inscription

in

red ink in cursive Greek on shoul

der and

under handle.

From Nubia, Firka, tomb A12. Ashmolean 1935-478. H:

435 em. D: 28.9 em.

This

amphora

has such a distinctive form

and

fabric

that it was probably made in a single production centre,

perhaps Abu Mena (see :188), the great monastic settle

mentin the western Delta J. Gascou in Bulletin de

Liaison

3

(1978), p. 27).

t was

a wine container,

and

if

intended

for

a particular Delta wine,

then

it

was one

of

he most

widely

enjoyed in the Byzantine world. The amphorae are found

in the Nile valley from Alexandria to the Sudan, in Rome,

Spain,

North

Africa, Cyprus, Palestine, Yugoslavia

and

Turkey, in contexts ranging from the 4th to the 7th cen

tury AD.

The inscriptions

on

the shoulder in this appropriately

named acrobatic script are extremely difficult to read but

seem to consist of the potter s name, the batch number

and

the capacity of the vessel. The s h p ~ shows a slight

evolution over

the

period of their use,

and on

the basis of

the mat erial from Kellia (Egloff, Kellia pp. 109-43, pl. 58,

2, type 169), the Firka amphora is late in the series. My

observations of the amphorae from Saqqara confirm this.

Their dating, because of the

amphorae s

wide distribu

tion, is of crucial importance - they are used for instance

by

Adams as a chronological peg in assigning absolute

dates to his pottery sequence for Christian Nubia.

An

example was found in the royal burials at Ballana and

Qustul (p. 104)

and

was dated by the handwriting of the

inscription to the sth-6th century

AD

(W. Emery

and L.

Kirwan, The Royal Tombs of Ballana and Qustul (Cairo,

1938), p. 387, ware D, pp. 388-9, type

6,

pl. iii, type 6).

This amphora comes from the burial mound of a Ballana

chieftain

at

Firka,

and the

excavator

dated

the burial

by

its

presence.

t

s

an

intriguing reversal of fate

that the name

of the potter who made it may be known to us, but the

chieftain, rich

and

powerful enough to have wine from

Egypt 1,000 miles awa:y for his burial, remains anony-

mous.

L.

Kirwan, The Oxford University Excavations at Firka

(London, 1939), pl. 22, fig. 4; id.

in

JEA

21

(1935),

pp. 194-5, fig. 2, top left; R. J. Charleston,

Roman Pottery

(London, 1931), p. 39, fig. 89; cf Adams in

Kush

10 (1962),

pp.

275, 261, p3; id. in

Kush

14 (1966), p. 280.

2

44

From Amarna.

Ashmolean

1927.2114. Gift of Egyp

Exploration Society. H: 60.4 em. D: 18.6 em.

Tutankhamun

s tomb equipment included vintage (se

242) Egyptian

wines

in jars like this one. Some confusio

has arisen because the elegant shape was thought to b

Syrian (H. Carter, The Tomb ofTutankhamun, (London

1933), p. 149, pl. 1, c)

and

it

was assumed

that the vase

were imported originally full of Syrian wine L. Lesko

. King Tut s Wine

Cellar

(Berkeley, 1977), p. 23). All the win

jars of this type known to me are made like this one of an

Egyptian marl clay, so there is

no

reason to

suppose

the

ever contained anything other than Egyptian wine.

The shape may have been inspired by imported vessel

244

WINE FOR THE

ROYAL CITY i t

was certainly much admired, and versions exist i

OF EL-AMARNA glass and alabaster.

Ammna

period,_1364-1347

BC.

This jar was found during British excavations at th

Broad

shouldered jug with

a tall neck. Limestone- new capital

founded by Akhenaten at

el-Amarna (p. 72)

tempered marl clay D,-uneven-su-r-faee-eeleur-paleyellow Ibid. p.

27;

cf. Petrie and Brunton,

Sedment n,

pl. lxii

5 Y7/3) to pink. Thrown in at least two parts, joined at 115; Petri e, Kahun pl. xxi, 43;

J.

Bourriau in Egypt s Golden

base of neck, handle applied. Thick self slip applied to Age: The Art of Living in the New Kingdom (Boston, forth

--surface-with

br-ush-and

burnished.

Painted decoratiorrin--com1ng)-.

-

black

and

blue consisting of bands of vertical strokes and

dots above a design,

in

black over

red

outlines, of lotus

flowers, leaves

and buds.

Restored from sherds.

244--

Bourriau-PotteryFromNileBeforeArabConquest

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