Model Jar on Stand
Object Label
These little models represent pointed or round-bottomed containers that were stored in upright stands. The shapes of the pots suggest that they held water or beer. Models like these examples may have been placed in a temple as symbolic offerings to a god.
Caption
Model Jar on Stand, ca. 3200–2675 B.C.E.. Faience, 2 9/16 x Diam. 13/16 in. (6.5 x 2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.128.2. Creative Commons-BY
Title
Model Jar on Stand
Date
ca. 3200–2675 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 1 to Dynasty 2
Period
Predynastic Period, Naqada III Period, to Early Dynastic Period
Geography
Reportedly from: el-Mahasna, Egypt
Medium
Faience
Classification
Dimensions
2 9/16 x Diam. 13/16 in. (6.5 x 2 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
58.128.2
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
They are so cute and smart! But aren't these containers a little bit small for water or beer?
These ARE small, which is a good observation. Often, model versions of things would be placed in the tomb instead of full sized ones. But they would still function in the same symbolic way (to bring nourishment to the soul).Similarly, you will see little "shabties" that look like miniature mummies. These were little servants that were placed in the tomb to perform agricultural work in the afterlife. Even though they are usually miniature, they were expected to do the work of grown men!Got it. Maybe it is a religious tradition that miniatures can be represented as real in a tomb? Or because of limited resources? Why didn't the ancient Egyptians create items as the same size as real?I think you are correct that in many cases it was a matter of space, resources or money. Egyptian artists were incredibly efficient when it came to design - images tended to be refined down to their most essential parts.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at