<em>Blue-Painted Vase with Marsh Scene</em>, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Pottery, pigment, 11 5/8 x Diam. of body 6 5/16 in. (29.6 x 16 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 59.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.2_overall_SL1.jpg)

Blue-Painted Vase with Marsh Scene, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Pottery, pigment, 11 5/8 x Diam. of body 6 5/16 in. (29.6 x 16 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 59.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.2_overall_SL1.jpg)

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How did these vessels with pointed bottoms stay upright in ancient Egypt?

We get that question often. Vessels like this one may have stood in specially designed racks with openings to hold those pointed bottoms. They also may have been placed in holes dug into earth floors, or simply have been leaned against walls.

You'll notice the color blue on many objects in this gallery. For the ancient Egyptians, blue symbolized water, necessary for all forms of life, and especially crucial in a desert climate!

How did the geography affect the development of the Egyptian society?

The Nile River is the most important part of the landscape of ancient and modern Egypt. About ten thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers moved from the disappearing grasslands (where the Sahara Desert is located today) into the fertile Nile valley for survival. This population boom led to the need for an organized society which evolved into what we know as ancient Egypt. It took a great deal of continued organization to make sure that the narrow strip of fertile land in the desert that flooded annually could support a large population.

The river and the careful delineation of land into the floodplain where farming happened, the low desert where people lived, and the high desert where people were buried featured in their art and belief system.

The river and its marshy edges were understood as the source of all life. The river was, and still is, a key mode of transportation.

Where did the blue dye in Egyptian pottery come from?

The pastel pigment was made from ground-up blue frit, a mixture of cobalt and alum.

Thank you! Also, how did this vase stand up by itself?

Vessels like this one may have stood in specially designed racks with openings to hold those rounded, or even pointed bottoms. They also may have been placed in holes dug into earth floors, or simply have been leaned against walls.

Oh how fascinating!

Thank you, that was really bugging us haha

Blue-Painted Vase with Marsh Scene

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

During the reign of Amunhotep III, light blue was the most popular color in the artist's palette; it may have been the King's favorite color. Craftsmen frequently decorated pots with cobalt blue paint. Some of the most complex examples depict marsh scenes, evoking the papyrus swamp from which the Egyptians believed the Creator god emerged at the so-called First Moment. Blue-painted ware has been found in houses, tombs, and temples.

MEDIUM Pottery, pigment

DATES ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 11 5/8 x Diam. of body 6 5/16 in. (29.6 x 16 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 59.2

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Blue-Painted Vase with Marsh Scene, ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E. Pottery, pigment, 11 5/8 x Diam. of body 6 5/16 in. (29.6 x 16 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 59.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 59.2_overall_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 59.2_overall_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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