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Black-topped red polished spouted jar

Nubian
Classic Kerma
about 1700–1550 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Kerma, 1400-A

Medium/Technique Pottery
Dimensions Overall: 13.7 x 6.7 cm (5 3/8 x 2 5/8 in.)
Credit Line Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number20.3272
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsVessels

DescriptionThis spouted jar, of highly polished black-topped redware, is made of a fabric characteristic of the classic phase of Kerma pottery. The red surface was created by application of ochre prior to firing in an oxidizing atmosphere and polishing with smooth stones/pebbles. The black top was attained by turning the beaker over to place the upper portion in an oxygen-reduced atmosphere of burning organics/ash.

(Accession Date: June 28, 2006)
ProvenanceFrom Kerma, 1400-A. 1914: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of the Sudan.

(Accession date: June 28, 2006)