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Shouldered jar with vertical handles (amphora)
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18
1550–1295 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 34.8 x 22 cm (13 11/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
By exchange with the Peabody Museum, Harvard
Accession Number44.30
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsVessels
DescriptionAmphora with two vertical handles and an incised collar on the shoulder. The collar is composed of lotus flowers and poppy petals. The handles are carved with vertical ribs and horizontal grooves; the neck is also grooved.
[Alternate Text:]
Pottery vases and more precious stone versions, such as the calcite example exhibited here, were offerings made to the departed both during the burial and on special days of commemoration such as the "Beautiful Feast of the Valley." Friends and relatives of the deceased would visit the tomb and enjoy a meal while communing with the spirits of those buried. The incised floral collar on this vase was originally inlaid with colored pigment. Representations of such collars on offering vessels were symbolic of rebirth.
[Alternate Text:]
Pottery vases and more precious stone versions, such as the calcite example exhibited here, were offerings made to the departed both during the burial and on special days of commemoration such as the "Beautiful Feast of the Valley." Friends and relatives of the deceased would visit the tomb and enjoy a meal while communing with the spirits of those buried. The incised floral collar on this vase was originally inlaid with colored pigment. Representations of such collars on offering vessels were symbolic of rebirth.
ProvenanceFrom Saqqara. 1859: collected in Egypt by Mrs. J. H. Wells; 1879: purchased by the Peabody Museum, Harvard University (Peabody Museum 19818); January 21, 1937: received by the MFA through exchange with Peabody Museum, Harvard University. (Accession date: January 7, 1944).