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Marsh-Bowl

New Kingdom
ca. 1492–1473 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 116
Shallow open bowls made of faience were popular in the early Eighteenth Dynasty as temple offerings and tomb furnishings. On the outside, the bowls are almost invariably decorated with the petals and sepals of the blue lotus. The flower of the blue lotus opens in the morning and closes at night making it a powerful symbol of regeneration, a common theme in Egyptian art. On the inside, many bowls, have aquatic motifs, like this one. Here, there are eight fully open lotus blossoms and eight buds, their stems growing from a rectangular pool in the center. The bowl was found in the tomb of Hatnefer inside one of the subsidiary coffins. This coffin contained the mummies of two women and two young children. The bowl had been placed at the foot end of the coffin with a number of other objects now in the Museum's collection. These include two faience dishes, a circular wood box, two mirrors, and five cowrie-shaped amulets.

For a bowl of the same type, but decorated in a very different style, click here.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marsh-Bowl
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18, early
  • Reign: reign of Thutmose II–Early Joint reign
  • Date: ca. 1492–1473 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Tomb of Hatnefer and Ramose (below TT 71), coffin III, MMA excavations, 1935–36
  • Medium: Faience, paint
  • Dimensions: H. 6.7 cm (2 5/8 in.); Diam. 18 cm (7 1/16 in.); Th. 0.6 cm (1/4 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: 36.3.8
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Marsh Bowl, Faience
Marsh Bowl
ca. 1550–1458 B.C.
Reconstruction of Geometric Decoration, Faience, modern plaster, gold paint
Reconstruction of Geometric Decoration
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Drinking Cup, Glassy faience, gold
Drinking Cup
ca. 1479–1425 B.C.
Floral collar from Tutankhamun's Embalming Cache, Papyrus, olive leaves, persea leaves, nightshade berries, celery (?), faience, linen dyed red
Floral collar from Tutankhamun's Embalming Cache
ca. 1336–1327 B.C.
Floral Collar from Tutankhamun's Embalming Cache, Papyrus, olive leaves, persea leaves, cornflowers, blue lotus petals, Picris flowers, nightshade berries, faience, linen
Floral Collar from Tutankhamun's Embalming Cache
ca. 1336–1327 B.C.

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