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Figure Vase of Woman Holding Dog

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
Throughout the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty, a small group of potters, perhaps members of a single workshop, fashioned charming vessels in human and animal forms. They shaped the two halves of each container in open molds and joined the pieces along the sides. Complex details such as arms were created by hand and applied to the molded pieces. The potters then covered the vessel with a red slip (a mixture of clay and water) and polished the surface. This example depicts a servant woman carrying a small dog, perhaps the honored pet of her master or mistress.
MEDIUM Clay
  • Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt
  • DATES ca. 1479–1353 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 7 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 1 15/16 in. (19.3 x 6.3 x 4.9 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.331E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Figure vase in the form of a footless woman holding a small animal (jackal?) to her thorax in her left hand and forearm. Her right have holds a bolt of cloth (?). The vessel has a flaring rim with loop handle. Condition: A high polish produced by burnishing covers the entire figure up to the level of the head. The head and face exhibit coarse texture. A small chip is missing from the rim of the vessel.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
    CAPTION Figure Vase of Woman Holding Dog, ca. 1479–1353 B.C.E. Clay, 7 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 1 15/16 in. (19.3 x 6.3 x 4.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.331E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.331E_erg456.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.37.331E_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 9/6/2007
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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