This pot dates to Predynastic Egypt, before the unification of the country under pharaonic rule.  Around 5000 B.C., people began growing crops and raising domestic animals in the Nile Valley, and from here early civilizations began to develop.  One of the centers of early Egyptian civilization was at Nagada, where a sophisticated artistic culture had its origins.  Nagada II pottery characteristically has red lines on a neutral clay body and is decorated with geometric patterns and stylized representations of animals, such as these graceful yet simplified flamingos.

Egyptians began to trade pottery with Mesopotamians, Palestinians, and Persians, and the presence of vessels such as this one in settlements outside Egypt indicates that they were considered luxury goods.