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Two Vases in the
Shape of Mother Monkeys and Their Young. Left: Sixth Dynasty, reign
of Merenre I (ca. 2255–2246
B.C.E.). Egyptian alabaster; H. 7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm). The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore
M. Davis, 1915 (30.8.134). Right: Sixth Dynasty, reign of Pepi I (ca.
2289–2255
B.C.E.). Egyptian alabaster; H. 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm). The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, Fletcher Fund,
and Lila Acheson Wallace, Russell and Judy Carson, William Kelly Simpson,
and Vaughn Foundation Gifts, in honor of Henry George Fischer, 1992 (1992.338).
The vase on the left of a mother monkey clutching its young to its breast is a
container for precious oils. It is inscribed on the shoulder with the
name and titles of King Merenre, who probably gave it to a favored
courtier during the thirty-year jubilee celebration. The vase is
remarkable for showing the animal in a dignified upright pose.
The vase on the right, also a container for precious oils, is inscribed with the name and titles of King Pepi I as well as an indication that it was presented on the occasion of his thirty-year jubilee. Also inscribed is the name of a woman who held an office at the funerary establishment of the king. The vase conveys a sense of intimacy in showing the mother monkey bending her head over her young.
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