Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Model of a House
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Many Twelfth Dynasty pottery house models feature prominent open courtyards like this one. Courtyards served as semipublic reception areas and appeared with increasing frequency in Middle Kingdom houses, indicating a growing sense of social responsibility on the part of the owner. This particular example is filled with models of food, transforming the house model into an offering table; what appears to be an opening into the courtyard is actually an outlet for liquid offerings.
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