Egyptian Vessel

Red Egyptian black topped vessel with black shiny glaze around rim. This is the oldest object handled by visiting schoolchildren. It is over 6000 years old from c.3200 BCE. It is likely made of Nile silt (mud) which turns red-brown upon firing, and then baked upside-down in an open fire to carbonise the top, turning it black. It was then burnished with a stone.

Image: © Harrogate Borough Council, Museums and Arts Service