30. Black-Top Red Polished Beaker

This tulip-shaped beaker is a typical example of fine Kerma pottery. Its thin walls were formed by hand using finely levigated Nile silt that was tempered with dung. Red ochre and graphite were used to create the bold color effect: bright red below, black on top with a gray zone between. The black interior is also burnished, making it less porous and more suitable for liquids. Depending on their size, beakers were probably used to drink beer, wine, or milk. Although they are best known from Kerma and other Nubian sites, this particular one was found in Egypt. Fine beakers and bowls have been excavated both in Upper and Lower Egypt in the Second Intermediate period in early New Kingdom contexts, usually graves. With a few exceptions, these tombs did not exhibit other Kerman traits (e.g. tumuli, oval pits, funerary beds, cattle remains, leather goods, sacrifices). The selective adoption of Kerma-style pottery in Egypt, both imported originals and local imitations, is thought to be the outcome of experimentation with Kerman styles, commensal practices and foodways.