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HOME :
Egyptian Antiquities :
Middle Kingdom : An Egyptian Red-Burnished Pottery Alabastron Cup
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An Egyptian Red-Burnished Pottery Alabastron Cup - SK.028
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 2050
BC
to 1786
BC
Dimensions:
7" (17.8cm) high
Collection: Egyptian
Medium: Terracotta
£6,000.00
Location: UAE
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| Description |
This delicate cylindrical vessel belongs to a type
of pottery that was produced as early as the pre-
dynastic period (c. 4000-3000 BC). Fashioned
from local clay, the surfaces were burnished with
stones and either left in their natural state or
covered with a thin layer of pigment. The two-
toned effect was produced by up-ending the pot
in a layer of slow-burning coals. The lack of
oxygen had the effect of carbonising the surface
and blackening the clay. By the Middle Kingdom
period, to which this piece dates, the same effect
was created by painting the upper section with a
band of black slip. The vessel tapers to a point
and was probably used to hold liquids, perhaps
wine or oils. Such items were often placed in
tombs as part of the funerary paraphernalia. (AM)
- (SK.028)
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