The Robert F. Picken Family Nubian Gallery features one of the most complete collections of artifacts from Nubia (southern Egypt and northern Sudan) in the United States. Most of the objects were recovered by Oriental Institute excavations during the 1960s effort to document the history and heritage of these Africa kingdoms before the area was flooded by the Aswan High Dam. The gallery is arranged chronologically from about 3800 BC to the medieval period (approximately AD 1400). Highlights of the exhibits are the Qustul Incense Burner (ca. 3200 BC) – one of the earliest records of the kings of Nubia; fine pottery from the A-Group (3800–3000 BC); figurines from the C-Group (ca. 1750 BC), a bronze statue of a Nubian king (ca. 700 BC), brightly painted Meroitic pottery (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), an ornamented Nubian archer's quiver, and one of the oldest saddles in the world, both dating to about AD 400.
