Cleveland Museum of Art (Egyptian) · vessel
White Cross-Lined Bowl with Turtle and Sun
Description
[Egypt, Predynastic (5000–2950 BCE), Naqada I–II (3900–3300 BCE)] Red polished vessels with white painted decoration (known as white cross-lined ware or C-ware) represent Egypt’s oldest known tradition in painted pottery. The decoration on this bowl, painted after firing, features the sun on the side and a turtle on the bottom of the vessel. The turtle was considered the enemy of the Egyptian sun god Ra because it preferred the murky river bottom to the sunlight.
Cross-references (2)
- Wikidata Q60758383 tier-1
- CMA-id 101396 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
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