Lightboxes
Cart
alb3641845

Lotiform Chalice

Lotiform Chalice. Dimensions: h. 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in). Dynasty: Dynasty 22-25. Date: ca. 945-664 B.C.. The fragrant blossom of the blue lotus is a common motif in all forms of Egyptian art. Because it opened its petals to the sun each morning, the flower became a symbol of creation and rebirth. During the Third Intermediate Period, faience chalices derived from the shape of the blossom and other faience delicacies were decorated with relief scenes evoking a constellation of myths having to do with the birth of the king as child of the sun god out of the watery marsh environment, and thus the renewal of the world out of the flooded land anticipated with the beginning of the Inundation at the Egyptian New Year. Here, against a background of water filled with fish, papyrus clumps and water reeds, the marshes are evoked as a magical environment: the central register shows a man with a calf or cow over his shoulders, a huge water bird, and a horned animal all riding along in a light papyrus skiff without tipping in the least, while in the top register another man separates a horned animal and a huge bull with his bare hands.
Share
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Add to another lightbox

Add to another lightbox
add to lightbox print share
Do you already have an account? Sign in
You do not have an account? Register
Buy this image
Loading...
Title:
Lotiform Chalice
Caption:
Lotiform Chalice. Dimensions: h. 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in). Dynasty: Dynasty 22-25. Date: ca. 945-664 B.C.. The fragrant blossom of the blue lotus is a common motif in all forms of Egyptian art. Because it opened its petals to the sun each morning, the flower became a symbol of creation and rebirth. During the Third Intermediate Period, faience chalices derived from the shape of the blossom and other faience delicacies were decorated with relief scenes evoking a constellation of myths having to do with the birth of the king as child of the sun god out of the watery marsh environment, and thus the renewal of the world out of the flooded land anticipated with the beginning of the Inundation at the Egyptian New Year. Here, against a background of water filled with fish, papyrus clumps and water reeds, the marshes are evoked as a magical environment: the central register shows a man with a calf or cow over his shoulders, a huge water bird, and a horned animal all riding along in a light papyrus skiff without tipping in the least, while in the top register another man separates a horned animal and a huge bull with his bare hands.
Technique/material:
FAIENCE
Period:
THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
Museum:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Location:
Said to be from Middle Egypt, Tuna el-Gebel region; From Egypt
Credit:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?
Image size:
3276 x 4094 px | 38.4 MB
Print size:
27.7 x 34.7 cm | 10.9 x 13.6 in (300 dpi)
Keywords: