Model Food Offering of Trussed Duck

ca 2170–1539 B.C.E.

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Object Label

Model Food Offerings

Over time, new subjects came to be depicted within the tradition of displaying models of food offerings.

New Kingdom Egyptians continued the Middle Kingdom tradition of leaving smallscale replicas of food as funerary offerings in tombs. Although some types were known earlier—such as the trussed duck and miniature vessels—a new subject was the gazelle. As desert dwellers, gazelles symbolized the chaos that existed in the sterile lands flanking the Nile Valley. Bound gazelles therefore represented the desire for eternal control over chaos.

Caption

Model Food Offering of Trussed Duck, ca 2170–1539 B.C.E.. Egyptian alabaster (calcite) , 2 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 5 in. (6.4 × 6.4 × 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 11.666. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Title

Model Food Offering of Trussed Duck

Date

ca 2170–1539 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 11 to Dynasty 17

Period

First Intermediate Period to Second Intermediate Period

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Egyptian alabaster (calcite)

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

2 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 5 in. (6.4 × 6.4 × 12.7 cm)

Credit Line

Museum Collection Fund

Accession Number

11.666

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