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Vase in the Shape of a Mother Monkey with Her Offspring

Old Kingdom
ca. 2289–2255 B.C.
Not on view
This mother monkey holds her baby clinging tightly to her chest. The inscription reads "Ny-Khaswt-Meryre [female] tenant landholder"[of the pyramid endowment of Pepy I] and "first occurrence of the jubilee."

Inscriptions on this and similar vases (e.g., 30.8.134) suggest that the vessels were given by Sixth Dynasty kings to favored courtiers, particularly women, at the time of the king's jubilee.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Vase in the Shape of a Mother Monkey with Her Offspring
  • Period: Old Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 6
  • Reign: reign of Pepi I
  • Date: ca. 2289–2255 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Travertine (Egyptian alabaster), paint
  • Dimensions: H. 13.7 cm (5 3/8 in.)
  • Credit Line: 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
  • Object Number: 1992.338
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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