25. Pan-Grave Cups

The black-mouthed cup is a typical example of Pan-Grave pottery. Made by hand, it has a polish that decreased its permeability and made it lustrous. The black top forms a narrow, well-defined zone that was applied with pigment either before or after firing. The interior is black, suggesting it was fired upside down. The red clay cup, also handmade, is less common and was fully oxidized during firing. It has a hatched motif on its rim, but the body has a ribbed, spiral-form design that is possibly linked to A-Group pottery. While the archaeological context of these particular cups is unknown, they may have been included in funerary assemblages. Cemeteries belonging to the Pan-Grave tradition are known at Mostagedda and Rifeh in Middle Egypt, Badari, Balabish, Hierakonpolis, Thebes and Edfu in the south. A cup very similar to the ribbed one is known from Mostagedda.