Ankh, djed, was on neb basket

Late Period–Ptolemaic Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134

The ankh (life), djed (stability), and was (dominion) symbols depicted here on the sign for a heb bowl constitute a powerful combination of wishes that, before the first millennium, were offered by the king to a god or by a god to a king. Large complex inscribed examples of overlaid faience ankh, djed, and was elements from the time of the 25th and early 26th dynasty indicate the symbol is being associated with the Egyptian New Year, and one bears the name off Mentuemhat, the greatest official in the land.

Other elaborately carved faience examples may be uninscribed, and this one, though quite simple, was covered in gold. The date of these is uncertain, but they may belong to a continued function of the symbol as a New Year's offering, perhaps presented to a god in a temple. The festival association is strengthened by the fact that the bowl beneath the tall signs is not the standard neb basket but the heb bowl, which is the hieroglyph for festival.

Ankh, djed, was on neb basket, Faience, gilding

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.