Fragments of a Faience Chalice

New Kingdom

ca. 1295–1070 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

Restored from fragments that came to the Museum separately in 1926 and 1985, this is part of a slender goblet with a flaring lip that would have sat on a tall stem. Like others of this type (see 26.7.291 for a complete example), the chalice echoed in its form the blossom of the blue waterlily, which opened its petals each morning at sunrise and thus became a symbol of creation and rebirth. The decoration, executed in high relief, enhanced this symbolism. The background is a watery marsh, the landscape of creation, filled with plants. A naked child, representing both the sun god and the king as his delegate on earth, wields a harpoon as he maintains order over the chaotic mass of wild creatures that inhabit this fecund environment. A band around the rim of the chalice is adorned with a line of waterfowl alternating with nests full of eggs, again a symbol of fertility and birth.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Fragments of a Faience Chalice
Period: New Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 19–20
Reign: reign of Ramesses II
Date: ca. 1295–1070 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes
Medium: Faience
Dimensions: H. 9.8 × W. 7 × D. 4.1 cm (3 7/8 × 2 3/4 × 1 5/8 in.)
Credit Line: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926 (26.7.975a, b)
Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1985 (1985.163.1)
Object Number: 26.7.975a, b
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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Fragment from a lotiform chalice; see 26.7.975a, b, Faience — Fragment from a lotiform chalice; see 26.7.975a, b
ca. 1070–664 B.C.

Drinking Cup, Glassy faience, gold — Drinking Cup
ca. 1479–1425 B.C.

Block from a Relief Depicting a Battle, Sandstone, paint — Block from a Relief Depicting a Battle
ca. 1427–1400 B.C.

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.

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