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Author Topic: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question  (Read 7332 times)

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Offline Danny S. Jones

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Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« on: September 06, 2013, 12:49:43 am »
I recently purchased an Egyptian juglet from FORUM (Thanks, Joe! got here quickly and safely!)


The attribution text was as follows:
Egypt, Pottery Juglet, 2nd Intermediate Period, 1786 - 1567 B.C.; cf. ROM 46 2:23; black, wheel-made, tall neck, flare rim, wide shoulders, decreasing to small pedestal base, strap handle, 3 ½" tall, Choice, intact, from the Alex Malloy Collection

Further research points to this juglet being similar in date and style to the Tel el-Yahudiyeh piriform pottery of the Middle Bronze Age II.

My question is what the reference (cf. ROM 46 2:23) actually refers to. Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,
Danny

Offline HELEN S

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2013, 02:54:51 am »


 Danny I am in awe at this wonderful piece that you now own you must be very happy. I am sorry I cannot help you with your question but I am sure one of the experts will be along soon. WOW an amazing relic from the past truly amazing thank you so much for posting.

Offline Russ

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2013, 02:39:24 pm »
Hi,

     Just a wild guess: Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) of Canada, Publication No. 46, Chapter 2, Subsection 2, paragraph 23?

Russ

Offline Russ

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2013, 03:33:19 pm »
Hi Danny:

     You may want to check the following publications:
     Kelly, Allyn L. The Pottery of Ancient Egypt: Dynasty I to Roman Times; Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), 1976: Plates 46.1 to 46.4; Numbers 3, 11, 12, 22, 23, 24, 25, 38, 49 and 50. Note - all of the referenced jugs have "stippled" decorations on their surfaces. Each plate has a heading "Hyksos Cities" "2nd Intermediate Period". The text indicates that the pottery examples, so labeled, came from Petrie, W.M.F. and Duncan, J.G. Hyksos & Israelite Cities, British School of Archaeololgy in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account 12th Year, 1906; London, 1906: Plates VII and VIII.
     Petrie's "Temple of Onias" was located on Tell el Yahudiyeh also known as "The Mound of the Jew" because of Onias' temple there. The pottery found at Tell el Yahudiyeh does not look like yours; the Hyksos examples illustrated look a lot more like what you have.
     I'm curious... Is the surface of your jug stippled or is it smooth? Your jug appears to be white or cream colored, is it actually black?
     Since you mentioned Tell el Yahudiyeh, I also checked the double publication of Naville, Edouard The Mound of the Jew and the City of Onias. Belbeis, Samanood, Abusir, Tukh el Karmus, 1887 with Griffith, F. Ll. The Antiquities of Tell el Yahudiyeh and Miscellaneous Work in Lower Egypt during the Years 1887-1888, Seventh Memoir of The Egypt Exploration Fund (Extra Volume for 1888-9), London, 1890. See page 40, Plate XI, Nos. 1, 2, and 3(?), "Types of black pottery"; black ware with stippling, filled with white,  to imitate palm branch, dated Dyn. XII to Dyn. XX. And Plate XV, No. 9, titled "Tell el Yahudiyeh, Tumuli, XX Dyn. The text is silent.
     The basic shapes of all these jugs are very similar or identical to yours.
     I hope this helps.
Russ

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2013, 01:38:58 am »
Firstly, thank you for your help.

Although there is a large portion that has chipped off, I have not found any stippling or piercings filled with white lime. The lighter color is dirt. The actual color underneath is a dark brown, and the neck and rim is black. There is a small portion at the bottom of the neck which appears black also which make me wonder if the juglet was originally a dark brown or possibly black.

The picture above was from Forum and is a little misleading, as you cannot see the bottom part of the juglet that comes to a point in piriform fashion. I will take some pictures and post them here from a different angle. This juglet closely resembles the style and shape of the Tell el-Yahudiyeh juglet displayed at the British Museum here: [BROKEN LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN]


The main difference is the lack of stippling on my example.

I have read that Tell el-Yahudiyeh  refers not only to the pottery found at the actual Eqyptian site, but also several other finds in Egypt and Canaan of similar style and dated to a similar time period. According to the British Museum, these wares were Canaanite in origin. Also, I found online, but cannot verify, (nor have I found the article again) that pottery juglets of a similar style have been found that did not have the stippling and were dated approximately two centuries earlier, suggesting a prototype without the geometric patterns may have existed, or perhaps they did not bother to with decorating all of the pottery. Is there anything in your reference works that mention this, or is all Tell el-Yahudiyeh pottery stippled in actuality? And if so, would this, in turn, lead to the conclusion that it is Hyksos rather than the Canaanite imported Tell el-Yahudiyeh style of pottery?

Also, do you know where I could acquire these reference works to see if there is any information in them referring to this piece?


The photos below are of the British Museum example and an example from the Rockefeller Museum in Israel, respectively.

Thanks again,
Danny

Offline Russ

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2013, 09:57:36 am »
Hi Danny,

     From your (Forum's) photo, it looked as it the juglet was standing on a narrow circular foot. Is that "foot" actually a modern base or stand upon which the vessel is standing?
     These wares come in red, brown and black. The color is actually a slip, it was painted on, so it could easily be worn off or abraded in some way.
     The British Museum's description indicated that their jug was Canaanite, 1750-1650 BC, from Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir) Israel. The dating would coincide with Egypt's Second Intermediate Period/Hyksos Period.
     The British Museum also referenced Starkey's expedition, I don't have that report; but I do have a later one. See Tufnell, Olga, et al. Lachish IV (Tell ed-Duweir), The Bronze Age, The Welcome-Marston Archaeological Research Expedition to the Near East; Oxford University Press, 1958 in which similar vessels are illustrated by line drawings.
     Another similarly shaped jug (piriform), with painted spirals instead of stippling, was found in Jericho, and dated Middle Bronze IIB, mid 17th century - early 16th century BC. Currently (?) in the Haaretz Museum (Accession Number 48860) Tel-Aviv, Israel. It was published in America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Inc. From the Lands of the Bible: art and artifacts, New York, 1968: page 44, No. 31.
     I'll wait for your additional photos before I look further.
     Have you looked to see if any of these publications are online? Some might be! Unfortunately many online publications have been mutilated by Google as to render them almost useless.
     More later.
Russ

Offline Russ

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2013, 02:37:16 am »
Hi Danny,

1. Petrie's Hyksos & Israelite Cities can possibly be downloaded from ETANA/ABZU which used to be a fantastic site for online reference books but they seem to be having password problems - something new. If ETANA (Electronic texts and near eastern archives) has it, other sites may also.
2. Naville's The Mound of the Jew... can be found online at:
http://archive.org/details/moundjewandcity00grifgoog
3. Kelley's ROM book on Egyptian pottery - I could not find online
4. Tufnell's Lachish IV is not on line or I could not find it.
5. From the Lands of the Bible... - I could not find online.
     Perhaps, there are others here on the Forum who can help you find online versions, if they exist.

Russ

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2013, 08:02:10 am »
Thanks for the information. I am in the middle of a conference this week but I hope I can steal away during sessions to be able to photograph the juglet and post the photos here soon. In the mean time I am reading all the information I can on the subject and these links will be very helpful in my research. In two weeks, I am giving a presentation at a college on History and Ancient Coins and would like to gather info on this piece so that I can place it on display also  with the coins and other pieces.  Photos will be coming shortly.

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2013, 01:19:34 am »
Here are some photos I just took of the juglet from different angles.

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2013, 01:23:34 am »
And three more photos...

Offline Russ

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2013, 11:50:39 am »
Hi Danny,
     Much better photos.
     I read Tufnell's Lachish IV because it is the most recent work that I could find or have.
     From the photos you supplied, your juglet does not end in a point, but rather in a blunted point that forms a small/tiny base. Your type of vessel is illustrated in Volume II Plates: for a photo, see Plate 14, Number 15; as a line drawing, see Plate 61, Number 249. Notes indicate it was from Tomb 1556, partly wheel-made, and surface worn. Volume I, Text, page 273, indicated their juglet was found in Tomb 1556, located in cave 1558, Grid Square XII:H.14. And that it was a single male burial. Tufnell quoted Starkey's Field Report for December, 1934: "With these more important pieces were a number of miniature vessels." Then the juglets are listed as numbers 246, 247, 248 and 249.
     I hope this helps.
Russ

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: Egyptian Pottery Reference Question
« Reply #11 on: September 15, 2013, 05:28:42 pm »
Thank you for your help.  So far, most of the online resources have been of little help in this area. I am going to see if my local library can get the references you listed through the Inter-library loan system. Otherwise I would have to dole out over 1300 dollars for Tufnell's series. It might be worth it If I decide to collect more of these, but as for now I should be content to peruse someone else's copy.
Regards,
Danny

 

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