C-Ware – bottle C-0096
By Droux, Xavier
, Archaeological context unknown. 1930 : Bought.Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, ÄM 23222.
Date : Naqada IA–IIB
General range of C-ware production
Material : Nile silt (Painted)
Preservation : Intact
Decoration preservation : Good
Decoration
A series of downturned triangles filled with chevrons runs below the neck of the vessel. It faces a series of similar upturned triangles, and is separated from it by a concentric line.
Below, the decorative space consists first in a vertical row of three hippopotami placed below a triple downturned chevron. The two lower animals face right and the upper one faces left. The nostrils and eyes are represented by small loops, and their tusks protrude from their mouths. Their bodies are filled with chevrons and oblique lines organised in a variety of ways. The hippopotamus in the centre is harpooned in the muzzle; the weapon’s extremity consists of short parallel lines and a terminal small ring. The hind leg of a large crocodile crosses over the top of the harpoon. The crocodile is represented vertically and upside down, to the right of the hippopotami. This crocodile has a lozenge-shaped head and flexed legs ending with toed claws. The element depicted to the right of the crocodile is more difficult to understand. Although it does have two legs, the interpretation as a second crocodile seems rather unlikely, though it seems impossible to suggest any convincing alternative interpretation. The lack of space might explain why this last animal is so hard to identify, because the painter was unable to add the hind legs or the head.
Dimensions (cm)
27.8
9.8
Additional information
Closed
Vi 35
flat base
Outside
References
1931
Die Altertümer der Vor- und Frühzeit Ägyptens I: Werkzeuge, Waffen, Gefässe. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung IV. Berlin
, 117-8, cat. 257A, fig. 35, pl. 33.1952
Manuel d'archéologie égyptienne I: 1; les époques de formation, la préhistoire. Paris
, 275, fig. 176.1989
Das Nilpferd in der Vorstellungswelt der alten Ägypter. Teil I, Katalog. Europäische Hochschulschriften VIII, 22. Frankfurt am Main
, doc. 22a.1998
Peaux d'animaux comme symboles prédynastiques: à propos de quelques représentations sur les vases White Cross-lined. Chronique d'Egypte 73
, 209–210, n. 12, n. 14.2000
Am Beginn der Zeit: Ägypten in der Vor- und Frühzeit. Schriften aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 9. München
, 20-1, cat. 10.2004
A theriomorphic predynastic stone jar and hippopotamus symbolism, in: Hendrickx, Stan; Friedman, Renée; Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M.; Chłodnicki, Marek (eds), Egypt at its origins: studies in memory of Barbara Adams; proceedings of the International Conference "Origin of the State. Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt", Kraków, 28th August–1st September 2002. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 138. Leuven
, table 3.