Artwork Page for Decorated Jar with Boat Scenes

Details / Information for Decorated Jar with Boat Scenes

Decorated Jar with Boat Scenes

c. 3300–3100 BCE
Measurements
Diameter: 28.2 cm (11 1/8 in.); Diameter of mouth: 15.2 cm (6 in.); Overall: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.)
Public Domain
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Location
107 Egyptian

Description

The decoration painted on this jar shows two multi-oared boats traveling through fertile riverbanks lined with trees and aloe bushes. Rows of triangles indicate the desert hills in the background. The Nile was Egypt’s primary means of transportation and communication, since river traffic was far more efficient than travel by land. The concept of boat travel permeated all aspects of Egyptian life and religion. The sun god Ra was believed to travel by boat across the heavens by day and through the underworld by night. Funerary texts describe the trip to the afterlife as a journey by boat, and scenes of boats figured prominently in tomb decoration.
A bulbous tan earthenware vessel tapers to a narrow base. Reddish-brown paint adorns the upper surface with nested arcs and wavy lines resembling ripples. Centrally, a stylized long boat with multiple vertical oars floats above a row of jagged triangles. Two rectangular cabins and a fan-topped mast rest atop the deck, alongside a curved, fringed pole. These rhythmic patterns create a highly textured appearance against the clay's smooth, matte finish.

Decorated Jar with Boat Scenes

c. 3300–3100 BCE

Egypt, Predynastic (5000–2950 BCE), Naqada IIc–d (3650–3300 BCE)

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