55. Meroitic Pottery

Meroitic potters utilized a variety of decorative and technological traditions, reflecting both the existence of multiple production centers and their creative openness. These vessels are examples of wheel-thrown, thin-walled fineware, typically  used as furnishings for the dead. While the black, polished gourd-like bottle evokes the aesthetic of earlier Nubian wares, the painted vessels point to other influences. Painted pottery nods to the Hellenistic-Ptolemaic world, as well as traditional Egyptian symbolism (e.g. ankh sign, lotus, solar disk, cobra, sa sacral knot, udjat eye, vulture wings etc.). The painted style was also influenced by earlier Greek pottery (e.g. animal processions), as well as Roman pottery (e.g. floral motifs, tendrils, leaves, as seen here). Despite these varied influences, Meroitic potters did not just simply copy other styles, but used and combined them freely to create unique pottery of high economic value.