2. Black-Mouthed Bowl 

This bowl represents a typical A-Group style. It is bichrome and decorated with a rocker stamp in possible imitation of basketry. Impressed and incised decoration also occurs in the Badarian (Neolithic) pottery of Upper Egypt, but is first seen in the Mesolithic and early Neolithic cultures of Khartoum (from 7000 BCE). The bichromy is seen in A-Group pottery in Lower Nubia, pre-Kerma pottery in Upper Nubia, and Predynastic Egyptian pottery (bichrome B-Ware, e.g. no. 3). It was achieved by firing vessels upside down in a pit partially covered by organic materials (such as animal dung) and carefully manipulating oxygen flow. A black oxide was deposited around the buried parts, while the rest became red due to oxygen exposure. Unlike Egyptian pottery, however, A-Group bichrome wares were tempered with sand and organic materials, which made them lighter and more heat-resistant. The bowl was found in Egypt, in the same tomb as the figurine seen in this display. A-Group pottery has been found in other Upper Egyptian sites as well. Such vessels were likely made by local potters who were practicing their craft according to the A-Group ceramic tradition.