Alwan art. Towards an insight into the aesthetics of the Kingdom of Alwa through the painted pottery decoration

The Kingdom of Alwa was described by Arab travellers as richer and more powerful than Makuria1 (Vantini 1975, 72, 162-63, 274-5, 613-4; Shinnie 1978, 256). This may reflect the greater agricultural potential of its territory in the Sahel and was perhaps also due to the important role it played in trade contacts between Egypt, the Red Sea ports, southern Sudan and the Ethiopian highlands. Arab writers recorded also that gold mines under Alwan control were plentiful (Vantini 1975, 167; Welsby 2002, 211, 213-215). Unfortunately the poorly preserved archaeological remains and the paucity of research allows us to say little about its material culture in a wider context. Owing to the generally extremely poor state of preservation, very few sites that can be dated to the period of the Kingdom of Alwa have been investigated so far. Aspects of its art can be discussed on the basis of the remains of a handful of sites, mainly Soba, the capital of the kingdom (Shinnie 1955; Welsby 1998; Welsby and Daniels 1991). A number of cemeteries discovered along the Blue Nile, where grave goods were mainly composed of pottery, can be dated to the early medieval period, the transitional period between Kushite culture and Christianity (Welsby 2014, 185-186). Records of settlement sites are infrequent and the architectural remains are limited to the few examples of churches uncovered at Soba, Saqadi and Musawwarat es-Sufra. Even fewer examples survive when it comes to architectural sculpture and wall paintings.