Harappan Burial Pottery

Painted and unpainted burial pottery from Harappa. The two largest vessels were found in the same burial and are described below. The other smaller vessels were found in an earlier burial and represent an older style of pottery. The bottom images shows a collection of burial pottery which come from one of the later burials towards the end of the Harappan period, possibly dating to 1900 BCE.

Tall jar with concave neck and flaring rim: The rounded base was originally supported in a ring stand. The black painted geometric designs are arranged in panels with a red slip as background. After initial firing, the entire painted design was obliterated with a red slip and fired again at a low temperature that turned the exterior layer of the slip red through oxidation, but the inner layer remained gray. This overslip was not well bonded to the previously slipped surface and was partially eroded when first discovered. After initial conservation and documentation, one half of the overslip was removed to reveal the original painted design. The lid and ring stand with this vessel were also covered with an overslip. This tall jar was located at the foot of the burial pit for burial 148a.
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