Black Topped Jar

Burnished red pottery jar with shiny black band around the top. Flat based shouldered form with slight rim. “Black topped ware” is the most prominent type of hand made pottery in the Predynastic Period and typical of Naqada I and early Naqada II periods. The ware acquired its name from its most distinct visual feature: a black band at the top of the vessel which was achieved by putting the vessel upside down in a bonfire. Those areas deprived of oxygen and smoked by the burning fuel would turn black in firing while the rest of the surface became a glossy red.