White Cross-Lined Bowl with Turtle and Sun
Unknown Artist
c. 4000–3400 BCE
Medium
Nile silt pottery
Dimensions
h. 6.7 cm · diam. 18.1 cm
Classification
Vessels
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1920.2008
About this artwork
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.