Meroitic Vessel

On Display in the Nubian Gallery

Ceramic jar painted with seated frogs, recovered from a tomb at the ancient site of Ballana, Meroitic Phase IV (240–300 CE) (E22658).

OIM 23452

On Display in the Nubian Gallery

Bowl with incised herd of cattle, C-Group IIa, 1900–1750 BCE, Adindan (E23452).

OIM E24069

On Display in the Nubian Gallery

Incense burner from Cemetery L, Tomb 24, at Qustul, on the east bank of the Nile near the Sudan border, A-Group, ca. 3100 BCE (E24069).

The Robert F. Picken Family Nubian Gallery features one of the most complete collections of artifacts from Nubia, allowing a rich investigation of the political interactions and contrasting cultures of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Highlights include the Qustul Incense Burner—one of the earliest records of the kings of Nubia; fine ceramics from the A-Group; figurines from the C-Group; a bronze statue of a Nubian king; brightly painted Meroitic pottery; and one of the oldest saddles in the world, both dating to about 400 CE.

The majority of artifacts on display in this gallery were excavated between 1960 and 1968 by ISAC archaeologists participating in the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, an UNESCO-sponsored initiative in the areas threatened by the construction of the High Dam at Aswan in Egypt.