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Clay bowl: E.GA.6390.1943

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Current Location: Gallery 24

Titles

Clay bowl

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Description

Clay handmade bowl with rippled decoration.

Clay bowl, handmade with finger marks inside. The outside has a vertical rippling effect, together with horizontal burnishing both in and out. This type of effect was often created by using a stone. The base is unevenly finished with the result that the bowl does not sit straight. This type of rippled ware pottery was commonly made in Nubia (Southern Egypt and Sudan) during the fourth millennium BC. The walls of the pot are very thin measuring 3.50 mm at their thickest point. The clay used is nile silt and it is fired to produce a dark finish that is so typical of early Nubian pottery. The findspot of this object is uncertain, it is likely that it was made in Nubia and was perhaps then traded or taken to Egypt, where it was most likely included as a grave object, belonging to a trader or settler. This type of pottery is known as A-group by archaeologists because of its early date within the chronological sequence for early Nubia. there are some chips around the rim, otherwise the vessel is in good condition.

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 0.179 m
Height: 0.124 m

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1943) by Gayer-Anderson, R. G. (Major)

Dating

A-Group
Circa -3500 BCE - -3000 BCE

Materials used in production

Clay

Techniques used in production

Burnished
Handmade

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.GA.6390.1943
Primary reference Number: 59999
Oldadmincategory: P

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 18 July 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Clay bowl" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59999 Accessed: 2025-12-09 01:45:39

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59999 |title=Clay bowl |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-09 01:45:39|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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