KOM RABIA: THE BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY 9780856982330

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THE SURVEY OF MEMPHIS X edited by Sarah Doherty

KOMRABIA: THE BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY

Colin A. Hope assisted by Bruce E. Parr

Excavation Memoir 116 Egypt Exploration Society

3 Doughty Mews 2016

London WClN 2PG

LONDON .1 i

I .

SOLD AT THE OFFICES OF THE EGYPT EXPLORATION SOCIETY 3 DOUGHTY MEWS, LONDON WClN 2PG www.ees.ac.uk

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© THE EGYPT EXPLORATION SOCIETY, 2016 A catalogue for this book is available from the British Library .

:

ISBN 978-0-85698-233-0

Front Cover: Suggested reconstrution of the Bes image vessel from Level O 31 398 etc. by William Schenck.

Printed in Great Britain by Hobbs The Printers Ltd, Brunel Road, Totton, Hampshire S040 3WX.

Contents List of Figures

VI

List of Plates

VI

List of Tabies

VI

Acknowledgements and Dedication

vu

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1

CHAPTER2

THE ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGN OF BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY

5

CHAPTER 3

THE CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY FROM KOM RABIA

19

BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY FROM KOM RABIA PRESENTED BY LEVELS

25

CHAPTER 4

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DECORATION

111

APPENDIX]

LIST OF DECORATIVE MOTIFS

123

173

References

V

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF FIGURES, PLATES and TABLES

FIGURES

1. 2. 3.

Examples of Design Analysis: Vessels from Malkata. Examples of Design Analysis: Vessels from Malkata. Examples of Design Analysis: Vessels of unknown provenance and Deir al-Medineh.

15 16

17

PLATES

1.

Vessels with Bes and bovine images a. Level IIIA 367 8631 b. Level JIB 387 856 c. Level O31 398 d. Level O31 337

22

TABLES 1. Frequencies of sherds in Nile Silt and Marl Fabrics 2. Frequencies of Design Sub-Classes and Motifs 3. Comparative Inter-site Frequencies of Design Sub-Classes

llS ll6-ll8 ll9-121

This volume is the first of several that ·presents the results of my long-term study of the bluepainted pottery from a .variety ·of sites of the New Kingdom. As such there are a number of people who have contributed not only to this study but also my interest in ceramics in general, and I wish to take the opportunity to thank the most significant here. My initial introduction to the importance of ceramics in archaeology came during three seasons of excavations at Buseirah in Southern Jordan (1971 to 1973) and I wish to thank the director of those excavations, Crystal-M. Bennett, former director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem for the opportunity to participate, and Marion F. Oakeshott who studied the Edomite ceramics from the site. On the completion of my undergraduate degree at Liverpool University I was encouraged to continue this interest, but to focus upon Egyptian ceramics, by Professor H. W Fairman, to whom I will always be grateful for his guidance in Egyptology. Throughout the research for my PhD on The Blue-Painted Pottery of the Eighteenth Dynasty at University College I was supervised by Professor G. T. Martin and constantly supported by Professor H. S. Smith, whose interest in the study has continued ever since. My dear friend Barbara Adams facilitated this research, enabling me to have constant access to the collections then in her care. This material, largely from Amarna, and that from the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania

excavations at Malkata, provided me with the core of my data, and to the directors of the latter expedition, Professors D. B. O'Connor and B. J. Kemp, I am most grateful. Dr I. E. S. Edwards and the Trustees of the G. A. Wainwright Research Fellowship, University of Oxford, are acknowledged for their support and financial assistance. It is a pleasure, but with sadness, that I record here my gratitude to Helen and Jean Jacquet for inviting me to undertake the study of the painted ceramics from their excavations at Karnak North; this was an experience I will always value. Finally, I am indebted to Janine Bourriau for enabling me to undertake the study of the blue-painted pottery from Korn Rabia. I wish to acknowledge William Schenck, whose drawings illustrate the Korn Rabia pottery in this volume, and to extend my gratitude to him for permission to reproduce his reconstruction of the Bes image vessel from Level O 31 (sherds 398 etc.) on the cover of this volume. The colour photographs were taken by J.-F. Gout. For proof-reading parts of this volume I thank Gillian E. Bowen, and to my research assistant, Bruce E. Parr, I extend my sincere gratitude for his diligence also in proofreading, formatting and work on the catalogue and appendix. Finally, I am grateful to the editor of this volume for useful recommendations regarding making the volume more userfriendly.

DEDICATION It is with the greatest pleasure that I dedicate this volume with respect, to Janine Bourriau, and gratitude to my partner, Yong Hope.

vi

vii

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION This volume presents the blue·-painted pottery from the excavations at Korn Rabia for which the grid reference RAT was employed (Jeffreys 2006). It contains all of the pieces I was able to examine from Levels V to O; this excluded those from contexts assigned to the Third Intermediate Period and some material from the New Kingdom levels that could not be located during the time I spent working at Memphis. Despite these omissions, this assemblage enables the evolution of blue-painted pottery to be documented from the time of its inception in the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty until the end of its manufacture in the mid-Twentieth Dynasty from one carefully-controlled excavation area. It is especially important for this reason despite its very fragmentarynature. The documentation of this evolution, primarily the analysis of the decoration, forms the primary aim of this study. It should be used in conjunction with the detailed analysis of the New Kingdom pottery from the closed contexts at the site presented by Janine Bourriau (2010), although the material from Levels I and O is not discussed therein. A brief account of these levels is provided in Aston's (Aston and Jeffreys 2007, 17) introduction to the pottery of the Third Intermediate Period; in that volume Jeffreys outlines the relevant contexts (Aston and Jeffreys 2007, 9-13). The archaeology of the New Kingdom levels and the identification of the individual contexts from which the pottery presented in this volume derives are provided by Jeffreys (2006), which should be consulted for such information. In the recording process I worked from the database of blue-painted pottery compiled by Janine Bourriau and her team into which details of material, surface treatments, dimensions and identification of shapes were entered (Bourriau 2010, 8-9). Some minor changes to these identifications and those presented in the publication of the New Kingdom pottery have been made. Unlike in that publication, no actual corpus of forms with lists of examples has

been attempted; this results from the extremely fragmentary state of preservation of the majority of the material, which made such an endeavour impossible. Instead, details of each piece are presented in Chapter 3 arranged according to the levels and their sub-phases as identified by Bourriau (2010, 5-6), who also outlined the criteria for the dating of the sequence (see also Jeffreys 2006 and for the objects themselves Giddy 1999). Also, unlike Bourriau's study, I present here the material from both closed and disturbed contexts, indicated in the Chapter 3 tables, from the random sample and the purposive sample (Bourriau 2010, 7-8 for an outline of the sampling strategy). This approach was also adopted because of the importance of the sequence. In this process the focus inevitably is upon the decoration, both the identification of the range of motifs employed and, where possible, the analysis of the structure of the design. The latter, outlined in Chapter 2, is based upon my original analysis of bluepainted and polychrome decorated pottery of the Eighteenth Dynasty (Hope 1980) and which has been utilised throughout subsequent research. In examining the decorative motifs upon the Korn Rabia pottery, and to place them within a broader context, I present here the full list of motifs that I have identified upon material from Korn Rabia, Amama, Karnak North, Malkata and Qantir. These represent sites from which I have had access to all of the material or which has been published in detail, and which covers the same time span of the New Kingdom levels at Korn Rabia. I have excluded material from cemeteries, as this often includes specialised manufactures well exemplified by the material from the tomb of Maya and Merit (Aston 2011), even when it derives from the New Kingdom tombs at Saqqara and has been fully published, to emphasise the necessity of studying cemetery and settlement material separately. This material will be taken into consideration only when it provides information necessary to the

Chapter 1

broad discussion presented in Chapter 4. I have also excluded from the list of motifs any consideration of small collections of material from various other settlement sites; as it stands the list is very extensive (Appendix 1).

frequent surface coating not only at Korn Rabia but for blue-painted pottery in general. Red Slip: a uniformly dark red slip is utilised; this is comparatively rare with only 142 occurrences out of the 1058 sherds in Nile fabrics, and one only on a Marl fabric (Table 1). While the entire surface was most regularly coated and the decoration applied over this, variations occur where a partial cream slip was added over the red in the area to be painted, or where cream was applied in the area to be decorated and the red only on the undecorated part of the vessel. The red slip could be burnished. All variations are noted in the catalogue. Rose (2007, 23) has suggested that blue-painted vessels with red coatings were manufactured separately from those with cream coatings. There is insufficient material from Korn Rabia to confirm or refute this proposal. Lustre: an unusual and rare feature of some of the blue-painted sherds is a lustrous appearance to the blue pigment, not observed elsewhere.

Fabrics and Surface Treatments Bourriau (2010, 17-27) has discussed the process of defining the pottery fabrics identified amongst the New Kingdom material from Korn Rabia, and it will suffice here to list those that were utilised in the manufacture of blue-painted pottery. The Memphis designation is given first followed in parentheses by that in the Vienna System: Nile Silts: G 1 (Nile B2), G2 (Nile B 1), G4 (Nile C), G5 (Nile D) Marls: Hl (Marl D), H2 (Marl A4), H4 (Marl A4), H8 (Marl B) There are 1,058 sherds in Nile fabrics, and amongst these Nile G 1 is by far the most common; Bourriau observed that this was the case for all of the New Kingdom. There are only 26 fragments in Nile G2, 11 in G5 and two in G4. Of the 30 examples in Marl fabrics, 20 are in H2 (two of which could have been H4), seven in H4, two in H8 and one in Hl. The use of the latter is unusual for blue-painted pottery and more common for polychrome-decorated wares, especially amphorae, though the examples from Korn Rabia are not of this type, and there is no polychrome-decorated material in the corpus presented here. Similarly, H8 is rarely encountered. The frequencies of Nile Silt and Marl fabrics within the levels at Korn Rabia are presented in Table 1.

Pigments and their Application Blue-painted pottery employs three colour pigments in the execution of the decoration: blue, red and black, with variations in the latter two incorporating various shades of brown. At Korn Rabia there is one sherd of this category upon which two spots of yellow occur (Level HA 20 2463 ); this colour is more frequent on what I have termed polychrome decoration, into the colour scheme of which yellow and green are incorporated to supplement blue, red and black. No examples of this category are otherwise known from Korn Rabia, which is encountered upon a limited range of forms, especially amphorae (Bell 1987; Hope 1989, 9-10, 51-2, 90-1; Hope 1991, 56-8; Serpico 2009). The blue pigment employed on the blue-painted pottery derives its colour from cobalt, while that upon polychrome-decorated pottery is Egyptian blue. A detailed study of the manufacture and sourcing of the former is forthcoming (Jay et a/ii) and so no discussion of the pigment is presented here. It will suffice to note that contrary to what has generally been

Blue-painted decoration at Korn Rabia is encountered on the following surfaces: Uncoated: the surface has been smoothed but not coated; in the catalogue this is described by the term self slip. Cream Slip: a light-coloured coating has been applied to the surface, predominantly of a cream colour but sometimes pink or white. As the same vessel can display variations of fired colour, all light-coloured slips are designated cream in the catalogue. This is the most

2

Introduction

accepted to date, this study indicates that the decoration may have been applied after firing based upon binders identified during . analysis by Raman Spectroscopy. The source of the pigment undoubtedly lay within the oases of Dakhleh and Kharga, and the pigment was likely manufactured at the source of the raw materials and then transported to those sites where the pottery was made and decorated. The sequence of pigment application during the decoration of the vessels is confirmed as blue followed by red and black.

IHA/HB 13 0 and O 31 IHA 12 7 and O 31 HB 318 and HA 154 HB 387 and HA 230 I 6 and O 31 While most of these are not especially significant, being between consecutive sub-phases, the joins between IHA/HB 130 of the late Eighteenth to Nineteenth Dynasties and the disturbed surface context O 31 is surprising, as is that between IHA 127 and O 31.

Residuality and Interconnectivity Bourriau (2010, 4) has drawn attention to the occurrence of Old and Middle Kingdom sherds within the New Kingdom levels. In relation to the issue of residuality as it affects the material presented here the matter is rather different and entails the occurrence of painted sherds of what appear to be earlier date within levels that are assigned later dates, but all of New Kingdom date. Specific examples will be discussed in the introduction to the catalogue in Chapter 3 and Aston (Aston and Jeffreys 2007, 58) noted the occurance of blue-painted sherds in many of the contexts assigned to the Third Intermediate Period. It may be observed that this phenomenon is probably the result of disturbance of contexts of one period during occupation activity within another. It does not reflect upon the stratigraphic integrity of the contexts in which they occur. This same process, plus post-abandonment disturbance of the site, undoubtedly accounts for examples of joining sherds found in contexts within different levels or sub-phases in the levels. These comprise the following, in which the Level/Sub-Phase is given first followed by the context from which the sherds derive: HIB 401 and IHA 404 IHA 127 and IHA/HB 130 IHA 367 and IHA/IIB 133/192 IIIA 480 and IIB 468 IIIA 127 and IIA 105 IHA/HB 133/192 and HB 386 IIIA/HB 15 3 and IIA 154

3

CHAPTER2

THE ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGN OF BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY The system for analysis of the decoration of blue-painted pottery, which can also be used for polychrome-decorated pottery, proposed here is based upon suggestions made by Shepard (1965, 259-293) in her study of · - Meso-American pottery, Rice (1987, Chapter 8) and Gombrich (1979). Shepard proposed that the decoration should be treated in terms of the actual composition of the motifs used, their structure and the combinations of motifs that are encountered. Though her own work was largely concerned with geometric motifs, the approach which she suggests is suitable for any type of motifs. A similar approach was used by Holthoer (1977, 55-7) to deal with the decora-tion he encountered on the Egyptian pottery from Sudanese Nubia. The approach outlined here was developed during my original study of decorated pottery of the Eighteenth Dynasty (Hope 1980) in which a significant number of well-preserved vessels, primarily from Amarna and Malkata, were available for use. Unfortunately, the material from Memphis is extremely fragmentary and so it is not an ideal collection upon which to base a new detailed analysis of decoration. As a result, I have decided to reproduce my original discussion; the Memphis material does appear to conform as far as can be determined but not all aspects of the approach can be applied because of the degree of fragmentation. As a result much of the terminology proposed - below cannot be employed. Furthermore, this discussion is offered for consideration by colleagues in their own analysis of other decorated ceramics and because it enables the complexity of the decoration of blue-painted pottery to be determined more accurately. It also serves to enable a more detailed comparison of the traditions that prevailed in the Eighteenth Dynasty and those of the Ramesside Period, Levels III and II of the Memphis sequence adopted here.

Various decorative techniques were used by the Egyptians in the decoration of their pottery, either singly or in combinations; a brief survey of these techniques has been published by Aston (1998, 53-9). For the blue-painted pottery these are: painting, application of premade elements, modelling out from the vessel wall, cutting out of portions of the wall to produce geometric motifs and incision. In addition, the actual shape of the vessel might have been partially determined by decorative considerations. In the description of the motifs (Appendix 1) these are arranged according to the technique( s) used in their production and the motif groups. Figures 2 to 4 illustrate the main aspects of the following discussion. Elements, Motifs and Motif Structures In all cases the basic, smallest part( s) of the motif can be described as an element. As with the motifs, the elements are taken from floral, faunal, human, hieroglyphic and abstract prototypes. In all but the abstract they are taken from an originally-visible object that could be copied. An element may comprise a complete object, such as a lotus flower, or only part of it, such as a petal. The composition of the motifs can be determined by the number of elements used. As Shepard (1965, 267) has pointed out, depending upon the degree of elaboration of a motif, it is possible to determine whether the element or the motif was considered the basic part. Rather than introduce yet another factor into the analysis however, all of the motifs are here described in terms of the number of elements used in their composition. The motifs can be made up of elements which are all of one family or several. These Motif Families are: floral (I), faunal (II), human and deities (III), hieroglyphic (IV) and abstract (V). Within faunal motifs a further sub-division can be made based upon the animal being depicted.

5

Chapter 2

i Isolated (Figure 3a, panel 2): the motif, irrespective of the number of elements from which it is composed, occurs but once, without any particular relationship to the surrounding motifs. ii Repeat (Figures 2a-b, 3a-b, 4a): the element, or one of the elements of the motif, is repeated either horizontally or vertically to form the motif. iii Continuous: this structure is used only for linear motifs, e.g., lines and bands of paint. Theoretically, a line is composed of a number of dots that can be said to be the element from which it is constructed, but it is simpler to define the line as continuous. In most cases the line continues around the full circumference of the part of the vessel upon which it occurs, although it may be interrupted by vertical lines or bands, the introduction of a new motif, or by having had petals applied over it. In the latter case the lines were not merely applied between the petals as can be seen by the fact that they are still visible underneath the blue of the petals. iv Alternating (Figures 2a, 3 a-b): the particular type of alternation is determined by the number of elements used in the motifs. When there is only one, the alternation is achieved by means of the use of two colours for the element or a slight modification of the height of the element. With two elements then they are encountered alternatively and are of the same height. Similarly, alternation of three elements can be achieved, or two of these can alternate with the third. The same occurs with motifs made up of four elements. The essential factor in distinguishing an alternating motif from a repeated motif is that the elements in the alternating motif are of equal height, occupying the majority of available height. v Interconnecting: in this structure one part of the element actually forms a part of the adjacent identical element. The interconnection can be both horizontal and vertical. This structure is quite distinct from the others referred to here as it has the potential to create all-over motifs rather than simply band patterns (see below). vi Flanking (Figures 3a, panel 2; 3b, panel 2): this structure is only encountered with motifs

These are: birds, fish, gazelles/ibexes/sheep, and miscellaneous, e.g., ponies, bulls, monkeys, snakes. Where there are elements from more than one family in a single motif, then the following precedence is used: floral over abstract, and faunal, human, deity and hieroglyphic over floral. The exceptions to this are when hieroglyphs are used as the central elements in large floral collars, they are then treated as secondary, and precedence is given to human figures occurring in a motif. This is used to determine with which family the particular motif is included. The following Motif Groups can be proposed based upon the number of elements that are employed (Figures 2 to 4): I Simple Motifs with only one element II Composite Motifs with either two or three elements III Complex Motifs with four or more elements The actual number of elements used can be added to the numeral used to represent each of these groups for further precision. In allocating the motifs to these groups it has been necessary to make certain modifications for those of the abstract family. This has been done in the case of the lines and dots of colour. Although these occur individually, they are frequently in groups. Rather than count every line or dot as a motif it was decided to count each group as a motif. Hence, if a vessel carries two or three groups of black lines on a particular part of the vessel, that part is said to have only two or three motifs irrespective of the number of lines making up the groups. In relation to the floral motif family, floral collars and bouquets are not included in the main description but are given separately. This has been done because the structures by which these motifs are constructed are quite elaborate and it is easier to simply list their occurrences. For convenience also, a list of the motifs based upon the papyrus clump is given. The structure of the motifs depends upon the placement of the elements when composing the motifs and the way in which they are grouped. The structures encountered are:

6

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

comprising two or more elements. One of these elements is centrally placed while on either side of it the remaining element( s) is repeated. vii Group (Figure 4b, panel 2}: this occurs with ·motifs of more thap one element, which can be arranged either horizontally or.vertically, and either one or more of these elements occurs only once. · viii Bilateral Rotation: this structure is extremely rare, and has only been identified definitely in the formation of a spiral motif. One basic element is used that is rotated through 180° and repeated, i.e., ...._, " ' '-' ""· In the one example which has been found there is a certain degree of interconnection and an S-spiral is formed. ix Slide Reflection: this structure has affinities with the repeat structure and employs only one element. This is repeated in an inverted mirror image and reproduces this image, but not opposite it. It comprises alternative left and right images. A common example of this sort of structure is human footprints. On the blue-painted pottery the images produced by this structure are joined at their ends or sides, e.g., ITTI. ~ x Random: this is also very rare and occurs only with motifs comprising several elements. In all cases one of the elements, or colouring of one of these, is encountered in random positions that do not fit into the general structural scheme outlined here. xi Mirror Reflection: there is only one example of the structure; the element is repeated in reverse, once only.

In classifying the symmetry of a pattern, it is necessary first to identify the unique or fundamental part, which is always asymmetric and from which the entire design can be generated by employing the characteristic motion which defines the symmetry of the class. (Shepard 1965, 269). From the use of the structures outlined above it is possible to form a series of Structure Classes dependent upon whether only one or more than one structure is used in the formation of the motif. These classes are: a. Simple structures: only one structure is used b. Composite structures: two of the structures are used c. Complex structures: three or more structures are used A combination of the structure classes and the motif groups can be used to produce the Motif Classes, which are as follows:

The identification of bilateral rotation as a structure has been treated with caution and only when there is some characteristic or identifiable part of the element that can be shown to have rotated, as with the comma used to illustrate the structure above, has it been used. Otherwise, the structure is described as slide reflection, as with the undulating line. These structures with the exception of i, iii, vii, x and xi all reflect the internal symmetry of the motif, and with an identification of the basic element of the motif, are essential for classifying the motif:

I a) b) c)

Simple Motifs simple structures composite structures complex structures

II a) b) c)

Composite Motifs simple structures composite structures complex structures

III a) b) c)

Complex Motifs simple structures composite structures complex structures

In the motif classes Ilb-c and IIIb-c any of the individual structures used can occur more than once. By then introducing a specific structure into this system the motif sub-classes can be formed e.g., sub-class Iaii - a simple motif with a simple repeat structure, etc. Panel Structure All of the motifs identified herein are arranged in horizontal panels around the vessels, and

7

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

Chapter 2

these panels are normally delineated by either a combination of blue bands with a central red line and black framing lines (Motif AVb.22a), blue bands with black framing lines (Motif AVb.17a), simple red or black lines, and occasionally black dots between black lines. These delineators always have a continuous structure. Only in rare cases are there no panel delineators; in some instances the delineator of a particular panel decorating one part of the vessel may be found on the adjoining part. The panels themselves vary in width quite considerably depending upon their position on the vessel. Though many of the larger types have very wide panels they also carry quite narrow panels, and the width of the panel is not always related to the size of the vessel. The number of panels occurring does depend upon the size of the vessel, though there is no hard and fast rule to the number used upon any one given type. In general, the panels are separated from one another by undecorated areas, though they sometimes occur adjoining, either with separate panel delineators or with one common panel delineator. This panel system is rarely broken and the motifs of one panel only occasionally extend beyond the delineator or into another panel. Although some panels are transitional, commencing on one of the zones of the body and finishing on another, in general terms the motifs within their panels are restricted to one body or neck zone. A recurrent exception to this is the motif of a recumbent ibex or gazelle, the body of which might occur on the shoulder or upper body of the vessel while the head is attached at the neck with the tips of the horns attached either to the rim or the neck immediately below it. In such cases, whether the body of the animal is painted or applied (e.g., Boston 1982, no. 70; Hope 1991, plate 16d), it always occurs between the neck panel and the panel on the upper body. In one example from Malkata the legs and hooves of the animal intrude into the panel delineator of the upper body panel (Hayes 1959 figure 150, upper right; Hope 1989, 125 plate 8b), as they do also on an unprovenanced example (Freed et a/ii 1999, figure 94, cat. 103). In some examples where vessels are decorated

with the Bes-image, it occupies the majority of the surface (Figure 4b; Plate 1c). Another exception to these observations is the occurrence of what might be termed broken panels. These are panels that do not encompass all of the zone in which they occur but are limited to only part of it (e.g., Rose 2007, 223 Type SF 4.3). The remaining part of the zone might carry some decoration, frequently only painted lines, but this is not the same as the former and is also often more simple (e.g. Level IIIA 404 13883; Level IIIA/IIB 130 8619 etc, in Chapter 3). The two parts of the panel are often separated from one another by vertical lines or bands of colour. With such vessels, as with the ibex- or gazelle-headed vessels just referred to, it seems possible to speak of the front and the back of the vessels, the front being that part with the more elaborate decoration. Vessels with floral collars on one part of the body only can also be said to have this same frontal aspect (e.g., Hope 1991, figure 17 and plates 8, 11 b, 12 and 18b) even when they have elaborate decoration in the remainder of the panel. Such is also the case with vessels decorated with a single Hathor head (e.g., Hope 1991, plate 5; Rose 2007, 234 Type SG 8.1 ). Figure le illustrates an unusual occurrence of panels partitioned into segments by applied vertical bars. The technique used for the motif of a panel tends to be uniform, and although there are quite a few that use combinations of decorative techniques, these are by no means as common as those that are simply painted. The majority of the motifs to be described are finite band patterns being "symmetric with respect to a single axis" (Shepard 1965, 268) and repeated along a straight line. This structure only permits a progression in one direction and this is mostly horizontal, which is emphasised by the use of the panel delineators. No matter how many times the same motif is used, and even when placed adjacent to one another, they do not possess the ability to produce a continuous allover motif (Shepard 1965, 269-70). For this the structure must be in two directions. The very few examples of this type of motif which have been observed are produced by means of

8

the interconnecting structure (v) and a repeat (ii) and continuous (iii) combination. These comprise the floral motifs consisting of the four-petal flower (Motifs Alo.11 to Alo.15) and the abstract motif ~ompri.sing rows of interconnecting loops (AV c.18).and intersecting lines (AVb.13 to AVb.15). This ability to produce an all-over pattern is not related to the area decorated with the particular motif, but is inherent in the actual structure which permits horizontal as well as vertical development. The area in which such motifs occur may be quite small, but the potential is not diminished thereby. A classification of the types of panel which are encountered is possible based upon the number of motifs occurring in them and the relation of the panels one to another. The types of panels are:

uniformity implying that the decoration of the most frequent types was predetermined. Though this does not mean that every example of a type has an identical design with exactly the same motifs in the same number of panels, there is a general scheme which was employed. The Design Classes can be established by reference to the techniques of decoration which are used and the actual motif families, that is floral, faunal etc. The following broad classes exist: Blue-Painted A Painted B Applied C Modelled D Cut out E Incised F Applied and Painted G Applied and Modelled H Modelled and Painted J Incised and Painted K Applied, Modelled and Painted L Applied, Modelled and Incised

A Simple Panels - only one motif B Composite Panels - two motifs C Complex Panels - three or more motifs To these can be added the following numerals to represent the relationship of the panels to each other: Separate panels 11 Adjoining panels 111 Panels with a common delineator

Polychrome M Painted N Applied 0 Modelled p Mixed. There are no design classes lacking painted decoration and most parts of a motif are painted. In identifying the techniques used in the execution of a motif, therefore, a specific part of the motif must be executed using that technique or combination of techniques, rather than noting that, for example, a modelled component is also painted. Not all of the possible combinations of motif families and techniques, or combinations of techniques, are encountered. Those known on the blue-painted pottery studied are indicated below. While it is possible to assign the entire decorative scheme to one class depending upon the techniques and motifs employed on the entire vessel, for example AI, painted with floral motifs, for practical purposes it is the motif that is assigned to a design class, and thus one vessel can have a decorative scheme comprising several design classes. Design Sub-Classes

The Design The overall decorative scheme which is used upon the vessels, and made up of a number of panels, can be termed the Design. This is usually restricted to the visible parts of the vessels, and rarely extends far below the maximum diameter, though a few exceptions do occur. The location of the various panels of the design does actually seem to enhance the features of the vessel contour, and some parts are enhanced by means of coloured bands. In this the design may be said to be tectonic, though by no means all of the panels are so placed, and not every type of vessel has tectonic elements in its design. The design of some types of vessel was not a matter of chance or the preference of individual decorators, but exhibits a degree of

9

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

Chapter 2

BIII: Humans/Deities BUia: Humans BIIIb: Deities

are produced with reference to the source of inspiration of the motif.

BIV: Abstract BIVa: Bosses and Discs BIVb: Triangles/Ledges/Scrolls BIVc: Miscellaneous

List of Design Sub-Classes A: Painted AI: Floral Ala: White Lotus Flowers/Petals Alb: Blue Lotus Flowers/Clumps Ale: Blue Lotus Petals tapering upwards Ald: Blue Lotus Petals tapering downwards Ale: Lotus Buds and Leaves Alf: Papyrus Umbels Alg: Papyrus Clumps Alh: Cornflowers Ali: Mandrakes/Mimusops Alj: Grape/Vines Alk: Chrysanthemums and other floral Alm: Floral Collars Aln: Floral Bouquets Alo: Uncertain Floral

BV: Hieroglyphs BVa: Single BVb: Multiple

GIV: Abstract

class with motif structure or structures, and the specific elements employed.

H: Modelled and Painted HI: Floral Hla: White Lotus

The Aesthetics of Blue-Painted Decoration The aesthetic appreciation of any decoration is basically subjective. For this reason any attempts to evaluate the decoration on the bluepainted vessels and decorative ability of those who applied it, is here restricted to very basic observations. The entire aspect of the decorative or aesthetic quality of profile and vessel proportion is omitted. The general preference for round transitions or gently curving profiles can be noted however, as can the general absence of exaggerated profile variation. Such terms as graceful or elegant are out of place in this respect. Whether such aspects of the vessel morphology please the observer or imply a limited degree of experimentation with the medium are not of relevance here; what is of importance is that the Egyptians themselves tended to avoid angular shapes. The aspects discussed here relate to the basic approach adopted by the Egyptians in decorating the pottery, and will be seen to relate to Egyptian decorative art of the New Kingdom in general. There is nothing unique about the decoration applied to these vessels. The artistic tendencies of the Egyptians as known from wall paintings and relief work prevail, as does their choice of motifs, attitude to spatial relationships and movement.

HII: Divinities HIIa: ·Hathor HIII: Abstract HIV: Fauna

BVI: ? Architectural C: Modelled CI: Abstract Cla: Miscellaneous CII: Floral CIIa: Blue Lotus Petals CIIb: White Lotus Petals CIIc: Papyrus Umbels and Mandrakes CIId: Blue Lotus Flowers CIII: Deities CIIIa: Bes image

All: Faunal Alla: Birds AIIb: Fish AIIc: Gazelles and Ibexes AIId: Miscellaneous

D: Cut out DI: Floral Dia: Papyrus

AIII: Humans and Deities AIIIa: Humans AIIIb: Deities

E: Incised EI: Abstract

AIV: Hieroglyphs AIVa: Single AIVb: Multiple

F: Applied and Painted FI: Faunal Fla: Gazelles and Ibexes

AV: Abstract AVa: Dots/Circles/Ovals/Daubs AVb: Lines and Bands AVc: Irregular Lines AV d: Bars/Dashes/Strokes AVe: Miscellaneous

FII: Divinities FIIa: Hathor G: Applied and Modelled GI: Floral Gia: Papyrus

B: Applied BI: Floral Bia: Papyrus/Lotus/Chrysanthemums

GII: Divinities GIIa: Bes image

BII: Faunal BIIa: Gazelles and Ibexes BIIb: Miscellaneous

GIII: Hieroglyphs GIIIa: Multiple Glyphs

10

J: Incised and Painted JII: Linear

K: Applied, Modelled and Painted KI: Deities (Bes) L: Applied, Modelled, Incised and Painted LI: Deities Lia: Bes Llb: Hathor M: Polychrome Painted MI: Floral Mla: Blue Lotus Mlb: Floral Collars Mlc: Other Floral MII: Faunal MIII: Abstract MIV: Hieroglyphs

Style: in the present study, the term 'style' refers to the collective characteristics and manner of treatment of the decoration without reference to the type of motif or accuracy of depiction. Although the majority of the decorative motifs used by the Egyptians are taken from nature, their actual approach in depicting these is representational and naturalistic. This does not imply that these motifs are shown exactly as seen in nature. All of the motifs are treated two-dimensionally. The amount of detailing used varies, but the accuracy of depiction is such that plants and animals can be identified with reasonable accuracy, even though there is a certain artistic licence in the use of colour and

N: Polychrome Applied Motifs NI: Faunal 0: Polychrome Modelled OI: Abstract P: Polychrome Mixed Motifs PI: Modelled and Painted

Motifs are the end product of the analytical process and result from combining design sub-

11

Chapter 2

used. It is not possible to determine whether the painters were right-handed or left-handed.

the production of hybrid forms especially plants which are not found in nature: see the confusion between the lotus and papyrus. The basic style of the blue-painted pottery can therefore be described as naturalistic. In terms of execution a great deal of variation is encountered (Hope 1977, 9-10). The application of the basic blue and the outlines of the motifs executed can range from extremely precise to careless. Secondary space fillers or details attest the same. In extreme cases the secondary elements even obliterate or obscure the primary motifs. These approaches do not seem to bear any relation to the shape of the vessel being decorated, nor to its size, though there is a tendency for larger vessels to have less carefully applied decoration. A certain linear approach can be detected when the basic blue of the designs is not applied in the shape of the elements of the motif but as a continuous band. This occurs primarily with f1iezes of tapering or overlapping petals. Perhaps the most obvious exception to the naturalistic approach is the use of hieroglyphic motifs. The elements are accurately rendered, but in some cases the addition of arms to the 'nli and d.d signs, with which they clasp other elements, is artificial. This is quite different from the representation of, for example, elaborate floral bouquets or a group of birds with a common body and wings, none of which is encountered in nature, but which are none the less depicted naturalistically and comprise elements from one motif group. The greatest degree of artistic licence is encountered in the use of colour. The predominant colour in the decorative scheme on most vessels is blue, and this is used for nearly every element and motif. Hence we find blue birds, blue chrysanthemum flowers, blue white lotus petals and blue papyrus. Little can be said about the brush work used in the application of the decoration. Marks definitely identifiable as brush strokes have not been observed, which might imply either a concern to produce an even, smooth coating, or that very soft brushes were used. This situation could also be related to the medium, for brush strokes are more common when thick paint is

Decoration and Vessel Shape

The decoration of the vessels to receive bluepainted designs bears a distinct relationship to the shape of the vessel. In this the decoration can enhance or emphasise the shape of the vessel, combine with the shape to simulate a structural representation of a motif or be determined by the shape of the vessel zone to be decorated. Enhancing the actual shape of the profile we find the use of motifs with overall shapes resembling those of the zones from which the profile is produced. On divergent necks we find friezes of petals tapering upwards, attached at their bases but widely separated at their tips, emphasising the flare of the neck. On upper body zones of jars bands of closely drawn overlapping petals are found at the point of most constriction, giving way to petals tapering downwards, emphasising the expansion to the maximum diameter. This equation is rarely, if ever, broken and necks are very rarely decorated with downward tapering petals, nor upper body zones with upward tapering petals. When areas below the maximum diameter are decorated, motifs that emphasize the expansion of the body may be employed, e.g., petals tapering upwards (Boston 1982, no. 71). It is possible that technical considerations were at work here, in that it would be difficult actually to apply a frieze of upward tapering petals to an upper body zone, for example, but a distinct relationship between shape and motif cannot be denied. The production of structural representations of motifs by combining zonal shape and painted motif is most obvious on footed bowls and tall necked jars. The very deep footed bowls/ goblets (Hope 1991, figures ln-o, 2a-b; Rose 2007, 221 Type SF 3 .2; Aston 2011, 25-6) may have three types of upper zone: a divergent concave-straight zone, a short convergent zone and a tall convergent zone. By combining the characteristics of the first two with slender upward tapering petals or broad upward tapering

12

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

petals, the blue and white lotus flowers are quite blue on a cream ground, serves to reduce the accurately represented. The divergentnecks of actual weight of the design. so many tall necked jars carry friezes of upward tapering, blue petals that it is obvious an attempt to simulate the open blue \otus flower was made. Motion The shape ·of the zone to be decorated also As has been pointed out on occasions too determined the selection of the motif to be to list, movement in Egyptian art numerous applied by its size and shape. This can be is rare, and most of the decoration is static observed quite clearly in the restriction of the (Groenewegen-Frankfort 1951). This is effected occurrence of most motifs to parts of the vessel above all by the use of ground lines and register with a smooth contour while those parts of the divisions to which most of the decoration is contour which are more exaggerated tend to have either simple motifs or merely bands of attached. Despite the temporary introduction of such an active position as the 'flying gallop' colour. at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and There would also seem to be a relationship its use in the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty (Kantor between the size of the vessels and the design, 1947, 62-73), the effect was short-lived and particularly in the number and size of the panels Egyptian conservatism prevailed. The lively used. This may be called the balance or weight representations of young bulls in thickets at of the design. The larger the vessel the more Amarna may have been influenced by this potential there is for the use of larger panels 'flying gallop' (Petrie 1894, plates II-IV) but and motifs, and for increasing the number these animals do not have all four legs off the of panels used. In ·this respect the Egyptians ground, though such may be the case on the would seen to have avoided making the design unprovenanced vessel in the Brooklyn Museum 'heavy' by the use of too many small panels on large vessels, or using wide complex panels (59.2; Boston 1982, no.74). The scenes ofbirds on small vessels. The decorative panels are in flight are a possible exception to this static evenly distributed over the vessel. The use of representation. floral collars, papyrus and lotus clumps, birds The blue-painted pottery is no exception in in thickets and fish swimming is, on the whole, the general lack of motion in the execution of restricted to comparatively wide panels on large its motifs and by the very use of the panels any or fairly large vessels. Although this may appear movement that does occur is restricted to the to be quite an obvious approach, it does show horizontal. The greater percentage of these that the decorator of the vessels was conscious motifs are arranged vertically and attached to of the potentials and the limitations of the field the panel delineators, and are therefore seen as to be decorated. This balance and symmetry stable and static. of the design also extends to the panels. When The creation of a sense of movement can be more than one motif is used within a panel, achieved in many ways (Shepard 1965, 276--81), their distribution is still equal and a balance and several of these can be found on bluemaintained, even when one of the motifs occurs painted pottery. Those encountered are the use but once. For example, when only one floral of instability for a few motifs and directionalism. collar is used, as is most frequent, then the Of the former, the birds shown in flight (Figure remainder of the panel tends to have an even 3a), or more probably about to land or take off, distribution of the other motifs counteracting the frisking pony and the leaping bullocks are all the weight of this motif. These motifs are also examples. In the case of the birds, their possible of the same height as the floral collar. movement is severely restricted by the close Finally, in relation to the weight of the panel delineators. The bullock shown against designs, it can be observed that the use of what a background of papyrus on a fragment from has been termed a 'bland' colour scheme on Malkata, now in New York (MMA 12.180.33), these vessels, with the predominance of pale is of great interest. Though not complete, it

13

Chapter 2

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

other motifs in that the motif as identified here is not the decorated area, but that surrounded by it. They employed a reserved technique. The latter of those motifs resembles a technique of decoration used for the painted jar sealings of the period (Hope 1978, 16-7). The technique is the reverse of that used for the rest of the motifs. Their identification results from the fact that, with dark and light-coloured motifs particularly, that colour which predominates tends to be viewed as background, whether or not it is the colour which was applied. If the two are of equal occurrence then neither is seen as background, or alternatively either one can (Shepard 1965, 285, figures 48-52b). In the case of one of the motifs, it is identified as tapering petals (reserved) on a series of painted bands as it has a greater meaning to the observer, resembling a natural object:

would certainly appear to have all of its hooves off the ground, and the position is not unlike that of an animal distracted while fleeing or in mid-leap. The effect of the position is made more dynamic by its head being turned to look over its shoulder. An identical representation can be found on a sherd possibly from Amarna in the Petrie Museum (Hope 1991, figure 20g). The use of directionalism is more common. Here the eye of the observer is guided in the direction either of a sloping line or stroke or in which the motif faces. This is most noticeable with fauna! motifs where the direction is that way in which the animal faces. The continuity of the direction is frequently broken by one of the animals facing in the opposite direction (Figure 3a). This can also be seen in relation to the Bes figures in Figure 4b. Examples amongst floral motifs can be seen, for example, in the direction a lotus flower opens and its buds point (Figure 4b). Amongst abstract motifs a sense of movement is conveyed by the undulating line and the zig-zag motif produced by slide reflection, though their dynamism is reduced by the way in which no particular direction is emphasised (compare Shepard 1965, 278 figure 43).

A: Bowl (NewYorkMMA 11.215.461) Interior: two simple, separate panels: 1) petals tapering down alternating with buds below a group of three dots (3 elements) - composite motif with complex structure (repeat, alternating, group); design class Al (painted floral). 2) overlapping petals with a central red line (2 elements) composite motif with composite structure (repeat, continuous); design class AL At centre is an applied boss: design class BlV (applied abstract). Panel 1 has delineators. Exterior: one simple panel; petals tapering down alternating with stamens (2 elements) - simple motif with simple structure (alternating); design class Al.

B: Short-Necked Jar

Two simple, separate panels: 1) overlapping petals over two lines of colour ( two elements) - composite motif with composite structure (repeat, continuous); design class Al (painted floral). 2) petals tapering down over a medial band below which are buds and above which are dots that alternate in colour in groups of two (4 elements) - complex motif with complex structure (repeat, continuous, alternating); design class Al

As long as meaning is attached to part of a design, whether it be imagined or is recognition of the depiction of a natural object or symbol, that part is always seen as figure. (Shepard 1965, 233)

The first panel is defined by a panel delineator at the top only, while the second panel has delineators above and below of design class AV (painted abstract).

As noted above, the panels of decoration are evenly distributed over the vessel and a balance of design maintained. However, in relation to the motifs themselves, there is sometimes a degree of elaboration apparent which makes the motifs rather crowded. This is frequent with motifs of more than four elements, when the effect of the basic motif is sometimes detracted from by numerous embellishments, such as dots and lines. These often take on the appearance of space-fillers and indicate the oft-mentioned horror vacui said to be characteristic of certain Egyptian art. Although not on the same level as these space-fillers, certain elements in the complex motifs seem to be squeezed in and obviously not to have been part of the originally conceived motif. In most cases the main elements of the motif can be readily identified and seem to be spaced out evenly, with an obvious awareness of the space available.

The Use of Space The aspects involved in determining the spatial relationships used in pottery decoration have been discussed by Shepard (1965, 282-93). Of necessity the first stage is the identification of what is design and to distinguish it from the background. In the case of blue-painted designs several factors make this an easy task: the motifs are mostly taken from nature and can be easily recognised, there is a basic symmetry in their structure which facilitates identification because of repetition, and they employ contrast with the background through the use of colour. Only three motifs identified on this pottery need to be commented upon in terms of their identification. The motifs have been identified as an undulating line, a zig zag, both produced by slide reflection, and petals tapering downwards, produced by repetition. They differ from all

C: Body from a Necked Jar

Five panels, four simple and one complex, four adjoining and one separate: 1) inverted blue lotus flowers (one element) - simple motif with simple structure (repeat); design class AI (painted floral). 2) festoons of overlapping petals over a medial line (two elements) - composite motif with composite structure (repeat, continuous); design class AL 3) a row of buds above a row of mandrake fruits (two elements) - composite motif with simple structure (repeat); design class Al. 4) d_d pillars with arms grasping rnpt on l?fn on nb separated by wd_3t; section with 'n!J on left incomplete (six+ elements) - complex structure (repeat, flanking, group, isolated); design class AlVb (painted with several glyphs). 5) petals tapering up separated by triangles with central line (two elements) - composite motif with simple structure (repeat or alternating); design class AL Panels are broken by vertical modelled bars and applied bosses. Panels I to 4 could be viewed as one complex panel. Figure 1: Examples a/Design Analysis,· vessels from Malkata.

14

15

Chapter 2

A: Neckless Jar (New York MMA 11.215.462)

The Analysis of the Design of Blue-Painted Pottery

_, .

Three panels, two simple and one complex, two adjoined and one separate: 1) overlapping petals over several lines (two elements) composite motif with composite structure (repeat, continuous); design class AI (painted floral). 2) birds, probably pigeons, with wings outstretched alternating with an open lotus flower flanked by buds all on short stems; one bird faces the viewer's left and the others to the right; between the left-facing bird and the one to its right is an open lotus flower (four or five elements) - complex motif with complex structure (repeat, alternating, flanking, isolated); design class AI. 3) groups of red vertical strokes alternate with groups of black vertical strokes in varying numbers (one element) simple motif with composite structure (repeat, alternating); design class AV (painted abstract).

A: Unprovenanced (Petrie Museum UC 8695) Two adjoined panels, one simple and the other composite: 1) an applied ibex head with painted details flanked by a shrub, with petals tapering upwards on the 'rear' of the neck (three elements) - composite motif with simple structure (flanking), and simple motif with simple structure (repeat); design classes FI (applied and painted faunal) and AI (painted floral). 2) petals tapering down over an upper band and separated by a bud below a dot (four elements) - complex motif with complex structure (repeat, continuous, separation); design class AI. Panel 2 has delineators.

Panel 1 has upper delineator; panels 2 and 3 have separate outer delineators but a common inner one.

B: Vase with Bes Image (Deir al-Medineh Tomb 1138) Rear of head: two adjoined simple panels: 1) double-headed serpent, crowned, flanked by floral bouquets, and with blue lotus flowers flanked by buds above (four elements) - complex motif with composite structure (isolated, flanking); design class All (painted faunal). 2) a group of three Bes images, two playing tambourines and one the flute, and rearing serpent (three elements) complex motif with complex structure (group, mirror image,

B: Hathor-Headed Jar Five separate panels, four of which are simple and one is composite: 1) short petals tapering up separated by stamens (two elements) - composite motif with simple structure (repeat);

isolated); design class AIII (painted deities and humans).

design class AI. 2) two Hathor heads with modelled facial features and painted wigs alternate with two groups of a papyrus umbel on a stem flanked by w3s-sceptres (three elements) - composite motif with complex structure (alternating, group, flanking); design classes HII (modelled and painted deity) and AIVb (painted with se,veral glyphs). 3) overlapping petals over a medial red line (two elements) - composite motif with composite structure (repeat, continuous); design class AI. 4) petals tapering down over a band below which is a bud and above which is a dot, the colour of which on the whole alternates between red and black (four elements) - complex motif with complex structure (repeat, continuous, alternating); design class AI. 5) petals tapering down alternating with stamens (two elements) - composite motif with simple structure (alternating); design class AI.

Front of vessel: (NB decoration on rear of body is unknown): one simple panel transitional between neck and body: The entire front is given over to the Bes image, which is produced in a combination of modelled, applied and painted techniques. The feather headdress is applied, as are the arms and legs, while facial features are applied and modelled; the collar with lotus flowers is painted, as is the mane, the wd.3t eyes, and the scene on the kilt of two Bes images playing tambourines and flanking a winged image. The missing navel was probably applied and the breasts are probably modelled. Complex motif with complex structure (isolated, group, flanking, repeat); design class KI (applied, modelled and painted Bes image).

NB: I have not handled this vessel and the identification of the techniques used is based upon the fragments from Korn Rabia.

All panels have delineators; there is an additional delineator around the neck. Figure 3: Examples ofDesign Analysis; vessel of unknown provenance and.from Deir al-Medineh.

Figure 2: Examples of Design Analysis; vessels from Malkata.

16

17

CHAPTER3

THE.CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY The blue'.'"painted pottery from Korn Rabia is presented here by level, sub-phase and context in numeric order. Unless otherwise noted, the contexts were sealed. Data are provided on each fragment from a specific context; the drawings 'with the decoration shown are those of the actual fragment while those without decoration represent forms from which the fragment is thought to have derived. These parallels are mostly taken from the Korn Rabia sequence but in a few cases are from elsewhere in the Memphite region. The tables provide sherd numbers, identification of fabric and surface treatments, part of the vessel represented by the fragment, codes identifying the specific motifs and selective comments. If no drawing exists and no parallel was cited in the original database this is also indicated; if the column for motif codes is blank this indicates that the fragment was not examined. Unfortunately, there are more of these than is desirable. Fragments previously published in Bourriau (2010) are indicated with references to the figure and form number of that work. As I indicated in Chapter 1, no corpus of forms is presented as a result of the very fragmentary nature of most of the material. Indeed, in some cases the vessel type from which a fragment derived cannot be determined and some originally identified as rims from jars are presented here as rims from lids. This illustrates the difficulty in classifying small sherds. Where fragments were classified against drawings of pieces from other contexts, such drawings presented herein have been modified to reflect the dimension/s of the sherd being recorded. Thus the size of the drawings of some vessels included here differs from that shown in Bourriau's volume. No attempt has been made to estimate the number of vessels from which the fragments originated nor the percentage of individual vessels that survives (EVE).

In the following survey I do not adduce parallels to the Korn Rabia material except in very specific cases; again, this was considered unwise .given the state of preservation. This factor also renders impossible any detailed discussion of the morphological evolution of the blue-painted pottery from the site. The discussion of the decoration is largely reserved for Chapter 4. The number of contexts assigned to each level and sub-phase, and the number of blue-painted sherds from each of these is provided in Table 1. In using these data it must be remembered that the actual volumes of each of these levels/sub-phases differed and this affects any discussion of the relative frequency of blue-painted pottery over the full sequence attested at the site, though it is envisaged that in general it approximates that frequency. In the following discussion context numbers are given in bold.

Levels V-IV Level V is assigned to the early Eighteenth Dynasty and Level IV to the period down to Thutmose III and Hatshepsut. There are two sherds from 276 of either Level V or Level IV, nine from Level IV and three from 103 that is from Level II but contaminated with redeposited Level IV material. Two of these are in marl fabrics and none has a red slip. One sherd from 103 (15160) is likely to be of Level II date, coming from a jar with mild S-shaped profile; the handle fragment is probably of that level also. Other than these fragments, all of those from Levels V-IV have been discussed elsewhere in detail (Hope 2011) and doubts raised about the certainty of their dating, being well before the first occurrence of blue-painted decoration elsewhere. The reader is referred to that study for the rationale behind this proposition. While some blue-painted sherds have been discovered at Abydos in contexts

19

Chapter 3

that could be assigned to the first half of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Budka (2006, 99) notes that a date in the reign of Amenhotep II is not unlikely. Until more material is discovered from securely-dated contexts it cannot be shown that the manufacture of blue-painted pottery predates the reign of Amenhotep IL

IIIA then that percentage rises to 80%. The actual quantity is surprisingly small, however, given that the period of Amenhotep III to Tutankhamun is the heyday for the manufacture of this type of pottery, and the Korn Rabia data may indicate more intensive activity at the site from the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards or greater access to blue-painted pottery by its occupants at that time. Bourriau (2010, 180) noted that amongst the random sample from IIIA there were 18 blue-painted types as opposed to seven in the random sample from IIIB.

Level III Level III covers the period from the midEighteenth Dynasty to the beginning of the Nineteenth Dynasty on the basis of a small number of associated inscribed items referencing Thutmose III through to Ramesses I, and the similarity of the assemblage to others of that date. The contexts have been assigned, when possible, to early and late phases (Levels IIIB and IIIA), while some are merely assigned to III; other contexts are transitional from Level IIIA to IIB. IIIB would appear to cover the Eighteenth Dynasty after Thutmose III until Tutankhamun and IIIA from Horemheb to Ramesses I, though actual differences in the assemblages are not major and the transition is not clear cut, with IIIA containing a scarab of Amenhotep III. That all such inscribed material is small scale and not especially numerous necessitates caution in its use and should only serve as a guide to the dating of the levels. Problems with relying upon such material have been pointed out by both Giddy (1999, 57) and Jeffreys (2006, 34-6). There are 15 contexts in IIIB with 56 sherds, of which one is in a marl fabric and five have red slips, and 25 contexts of IIIA with 170 sherds, nine being in marl fabrics and 15 having red slips. Nine contexts are simply of III, with 16 sherds, two of which have red slips. Ten or eleven contexts are transitional from IIIA to IIB with 113 sherds, six in marl fabrics and 11 with red slips, one of which - the only one from the excavations - is on a marl fabric. Thus, excluding the transitional contexts, there are 242 blue-painted sherds from all of Level III with almost 70% being in IIIA. Some of those assigned simply to Level III could be of IIIA thus increasing the figure and if the sherds from the transitional contexts are included with

The Chronological Sequence

extremely common at Malkata (Hope 1989, 30 figure 1Ob), Amama (Hope 1991, 36--:-7 figure 5j; Rose 2007, 242 SH 8.2 407) and Karnak North (Hope 1999, 122~3, figure .la), but which is abse.n t from the Maya c!,nd Merit assemblage. Its rarity at Korn Rabia is of interest. .534 6151 is the body from a medium-tall necked jar also common inthe same timeframe from those sites (Hope 1999, 122-3, figure lb-c; Rose 2007, 244-5, SH 9) and also KV 63 (http://www.kv. _ 63.com/photos2010.html, accessed 10/05/2016).

Level II Level II is assigned to the Nineteenth Dynasty and sub-divided into IIB and IIA, though both contain scarabs of Ramesses II. Boutriau (2010, 415) observed that the change in the IIB assemblage, of the early to middle part of the dynasty, is the most significant after that marking the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and it is the most extensive (Bourriau 2010, 6, 227), with 131 new types, 113 of which only occur there. Amongst the blue-painted pottery from the random sample 22 new types, defined on the basis of decorative schemes, occur, being 2.5% of the sample (Bourriau 2010, 227) in IIB, while in IIA there are 17 types, 1.9% of the sample. Level IIB had 27 contexts with 231 sherds, 27 with red slips, and two were in marl fabrics. Level IIA had 37 contexts with 332 sherds, 70 of which had red slips, and three were in marl fabrics. There were a further five contexts transitional from Level IIB to IIA with 22 sherds, one red slipped, and one in marl, while one context was transitional from Level IIA to I with two sherds only and nine contexts were assigned simply to Level II, with 17 sherds. Thus Level II has almost 60% more blue-painted pottery than Level III, even when the transitional Level IIIA to IIB material is excluded, and IIA has the greatest occurrence of blue-painted pottery at the site, 32.8% of the total. Again this may be seen as indicative of an increase in activity during the Nineteenth Dynasty. The considerable increase in the use of red slips is apparent, with 50% of the total in IIA, and 72% in Level II as a whole.

Level IIIA: comments on specific forms Level IIIB: comments on specific forms 417 8874 is possibly a fragment from a jar with S-shaped profile of the general type known throughout the late Eighteenth Dynasty from Malkata (Hope 1989, 30 figure 10a) and Amama (Hope 1991, figures 4e-5b; Rose 2007, 222-3 SF4.2 and SF4.3), of which a number were found in the tomb of Maya and Merit (Aston 2011, 15 'Ovoid Jars', and 29, nos 43-51 ), which assemblage has been assigned to between late in the reign of Tutankhamun and Seti I (Aston 2011, 3). Many of these feature panels with hieroglyphic motifs, predominantly wd_3t-eyes between groups of nfr signs, some with a lower panel containing nb-baskets, and they have an upper panel with petals tapering downwards. The Korn Rabia sherd has an wd_3teye beside vertical signs that could be the tops of nfr signs, and the panel above has tapering petals. An example of a similar form with the wd_3t-eye decoration occurs at Amama (Rose 2007, 223 SF4.3). Others of smaller size occur in 401 (15335-6) and 526 (6388) but whether they had a similar decoration is unknown. 417 8902 is the rim from an unusual form with infolded perforated rim, for which a parallel is found in Level IIA 154 8520. The original complete shape may have resembled the deep open forms found at Amama, some bluepainted (Rose 2007, 224-7), and in the tomb of Maya and Merit (Aston 2011, 27, no. 21), though none has the same perforated rim shape. 417 8922, 519 14464 and 567 5683 may derive from short-necked ovoid jars of a type

20

3877, 130 8604 and 133/192 6857 attest the occurrence of footed goblets. 386 yielded two unusual fragments, one an applique in the form of a bovine head and the other a spout in the form of a gazelle head; such images are rare at the site and the forms from which they derive are uncertain. 110 8632-5 are fragments from a vessel with a Bes image, as are 125 3 792, 133/192 6859 to 6861 and 10371.

Within Level IIIA four sherds have characteristics that are more commonly encountered within the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty: 166 8628, 364 13459 and 423 15033 and 15037. The first two appear to have a wide body panel with large scale motifs, the first has bands of colour under the overlapping petals, the second and third have panel dividers with bands of colour of equal weight, and the second and fourth have narrow triangles in black outline with a central vertical line. All of these aspects can be found upon a group of jars I have assigned to the reigns of Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV (Hope 1987) and are mainly absent thereafter; it is therefore possible that these pieces are residual. 423 15028 and 15039, and 491 15300 show the continuation of the medium-tall necked jar mentioned above ( 534 6151) into this phase. 367 8631 (Plate 1a) is the oldest of a series of vessels with Bes image from the site that can be dated.

Level IIIA/IIB: comments on specific forms · 110 3654 resembles the neck of an amphora, a type regularly decorated with polychrome motifs, otherwise not attested at Korn Rabia, but unfortunately it was not located for study. 110 3601, 112 3185 and 42114345 attest further examples of S-profile jars, 153 11846 is an example of the medium-tall necked jar, while 153 1184 7 is another fragment from the deep open form with infolded, perforated rim. 125

21

Chapter 3

The Chronological Sequence

Level IIB: comments on specific forms

a: Level IIIA 367 8631.

b: Level IIB 387 8567.

originate, like that of IIIA 364 13459, confirm that attribution (compare those in Hope 1987). 20 2463 is an unusual fragment with applied boss and vertical bar that curves as though to hold the boss. This combination recalls the decoration of feminoform jars with tall concave necks and ovoid bodies that have an applied female head attached below a collared rim, examples of which occur throughout the Eighteenth Dynasty (Bourriau 1981, no. 52; Boston 1982, no. 68), and with various types of painted decoration from the middle of that dynasty into the Ramesside Period (Hope 1989, 15-6, 57 with references). It has been associated with the cult of Hathor in light of the shape of the head and decoration upon one elaborate example (Keimer 1949; Boston 1982, no. 69). Examples of the jar with S-shaped profile are encountered as are those from the medium-tall necked jars discussed in the preceding sections. This is unusual as they are almost absent from the corpus published from Qantir (for one: Aston 1998, no. 1248) though amongst which attenuated S-profile jars do occur (Aston 1998, nos 1312-5) as at other sites of the very end of the Eighteenth Dyansty (Aston 2011, nos 52-4) and especially in the Ramesside Period (e.g., Bourriau and Aston 1985, nos 41-4). 88 2639 and 154 11686 are other examples of what appear to be amphora necks, but again unfortunately the former was not located for study. 154 8520-8566 is the best preserved example of the deep open form with inturned perforated rim. 108 8577 is the upper body of an exceptionally large vessel with painted and modelled decoration amongst which is an wd_3t eye adjacent to a group of nfr signs as noted in relation to the jar with S-shaped profile from Level IIIB 417 8874. 154 8517 may derive from a Nile silt amphora decorated with a gazelle or ibex head motif of the type represented by the vessel in the Museum of Fine Art Boston (64.9: Boston 1982, no. 70; Hope 1989, 126) as indicated by the shape of the rim and the attached ovoids below it, and others, one from Qantir that lacks the gazelle/ibex head (Budka 2015, 138), one from

Numerous examples of S-profile jars occur with ~hat from 386 (12959 etc.) being the best preserved from the site, and the tnedium-tall necked jar continued to be manufactured, with the weR-preserved example from 501 having a potmark in the form of an 'nb. This mark is attested on the same form at Karnak North nine times and also occurs upon the short-necked jar discussed in Level IIIB above at Amarna (Hope , 1999, 126 and figure 3d, 128 and figure 4c). These two forms were the only ones to carry potmarks amongst the Karnak North material, and they were also marked at Amarna, while the latter form is known from Malkata with marks. Amongst the Karnak North material, the medium-tall necked jar (KN 2206) was the most common form to receive potmarks, and I posited that this indicated the function the vessels were to serve, probably within a religious context (Hope 1999, 126-7). Their extreme paucity amongst the Korn Rabia material is of great interest. 318 12545 is an example of the vessel with inturned perforated rim. 370 12822 is one of the few pieces that can be assigned to a Hathorheaded jar, examples of which are known at Malkata (Hope 1989, 30 figure lOe, and 31 figure llb; Hayes 1959, figure 150), Amarna (Hope 1991 , 40 figure 7a; Rose 2007, 234 SG 8), Saqqara (Tomb of Horemheb: Bourriau et a/ii 2005, 52-5) and Deir al-Medineh Tomb 359 (Hope 1989, 57 and 78 figure 18d). 387 8567 (Plate 1b) is a further well-dated vessel with a Bes image and 325 13217 is probably part of another. Three sherds have decoration that resembles the design programme of the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty discussed above and may therefore be residual or redeposited: 325 13210, 327 5420 and 501 6107. Level IIA: comments on specific forms

c: Level O 31 398 etc.

d: Level O31 337

Plate 1: Vessels with Bes and bovine images.

22

Level IIA also contains sherds with what appear to be mid-Eighteenth Dynasty decorative schemes: 20 2458 and 2501. In addition ' the indications of the fonn from which they

23

Chapter 3

Gurob Tomb 602 (Hope 1989, 84 plate 3a) and an unprovenanced example (Freed et a/ii 1999, figure 94, cat. 103). 218 11144 and 280 12325 are the feet from small goblets, and 54 8569 and 280 12304-7 are fragments from vessels with Bes images. 107/108 3261, the rim from a carinated bowl, is decorated with what may be part of the body of a serpent. Such imagery is found rarely, but is known from Deir al-Medineh and Karnak North (Brissaud 1979, 19), and the tomb of Ramesses IV in the Valley of the Kings (Aston, Aston and Brock 1998, no. 178).

the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty on the basis of its shape and decorative scheme, while the single blue-painted sherd from 238 has been dated by Aston (Aston and Jeffreys 2007, 40-1) to the Twentieth Dynasty. Level O yielded the largest number of fragments of vessels decorated with Bes images (31 336, 351, 378, 396 and 398, Plate le), and an unusual fragment with the image of a bovineheaded figure (337, Plate ld). 31 141 is a small gazelle head and seems rather small to have been affixed to the type of Nile Silt amphora that regularly carries such images (Hope 1989, 97 category 3b).

Level II: comments on specific forms

Of the sherds from contexts ascribed simply to Level II, two are of interest. 41 11451 etc. appears to derive from the upper body of a jar decorated with a wide panel and containing large motifs, and as such might be of the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty, though it should be remembered that the largest extant blue-painted vessel, a jar from Amarna, has also large scale motifs in its body panels (Hope 1991, plates 9a-lla) as do other large jars of the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The shape and decoration of 87 11622 also recall features of early bluepainted pottery.

BLUE-PAINTED POTTERY FROM KOM RABIA PRESENTED BY LEVELS

The pottery is presented by levels commencing with the earliest, but, because some contexts are transitional from one level to that which follows, there are some deviations from this sequence. For Level III the sequence is III - IIIB - IIIA - IIIA/IIB, while for Level II it is IIB - IIB/IIA - IIA - IIA/I - II.

Abbreviations: B = Burnished CS= Cream Slip RS= Red Slip RSB = Red Burnished Slip TIP = Third Intermediate Period

WCIII

The relationship of the sequence excavated in the WC sector of the site could not be related directly to that found in the main part of the excavations and, following Bourriau (2010, 351) it has been placed after the main sequence. Bourriau (2010, 378) noted that the New Kingdom style pottery from contexts of WCIII were contaminated with earlier and later material, and the sherds that were available for my study or of which drawings exist or parallels were noted all appear to be datable to Level IIIB onwards of the main sequence. Note the occurrence of jars with S-shaped profiles (1057 15968), medium-tall necks (1130 9172-3) and the deep open form with inturned, perforated rim (1130 9167).

Levels I and 0

These two levels contain contexts of the late Ramesside Period and Third Intermediate Period (Level I), and surface deposits (Level 0) with material of a range of different periods. Fifteen contexts with blue-painted pottery are recorded from Level I, with 30 sherds, four contexts are transitional from Level I to 0, with 11 bluepainted sherds, and three with blue-painted pottery are from Level 0, with 45 sherds, four of which have red slips and two are in marl fabrics. As no blue-painted pottery is known from contexts securely-dated to the period after Ramesses IV (Aston, Aston and Brock 1998), then all of this material can be assigned to the period up to that reign and be regarded as residual. From Level I, 6 303 is a fragment from a vessel with Bes image, 224 14808 may be of

Conventions for Colour: Light Stipple = Blue Dark Stipple = Red Black= Black

Presentation of motif codes commences from the top of the fragment and the following symbols are employed to indicate the sequence in which the motifs occur:

I\

V

>