Black mouth jar

Potters have been working in Egypt since the dawn of civilization, due to the wide use and easy availability of clay, which was found in large quantities along the banks of the Nile. The black-mouthed jar presented here, a container for grains or liquids, belongs to pre-dynastic pottery. The particular coloration of the mouth is due to the type of cooking. The containers were positioned with the mouth resting on the ground and covered with vegetable elements, which burned and produced smoke during cooking, eliminating oxygen and “colouring” the surface black.