Advanced Search 
View 1
Cylinder sheath
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Aspelta
593–568 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 8 (tomb of Aspelta)
Medium/Technique
Gold
Dimensions
Height: 12.3 cm (4 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number21.340
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsUnclassifiable objects – Function unknown
DescriptionGold, electrum, and gilded silver objects called cylinder sheaths were found in a number of the tombs of the kings and queens of Kush at Nuri in the Sudan, but have not been recorded elsewhere. Each consists of two cylinders, the longer one closed at the base and the shorter having an internal sleeve that fits inside the longer piece. The cylinders are decorated with friezes of uraei and ram's heads, divine figures, and royal names. Their purpose is unknown; it has been suggested that they held rolled documents, but the open end makes this unlikely.
ProvenanceFrom Nuri, pyramid 8 (tomb of Aspelta). 1916: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Sudan.
(Accession date: March 1, 1921)
(Accession date: March 1, 1921)