Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Conical Lid

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Conical Lid

A complex locking device once secured this lid to a low, flat pottery base resembling a soup bowl. First, three or four strings were attached to a small, perforated disk—designed much like a modern button. Next, the lid was turned upside down and the strings were passed through a tiny hole at the top, leaving the disk inside. The strings, now projecting out of the top of the lid, were wrapped around the base of the vessel, effectively sealing the two-piece unit. This same method is used to seal baskets in contemporary Sudan.

Medium: Pottery
Place Excavated: Mamarieh, Egypt
Dates: ca. 3300-3100 B.C.E.
Period: Predynastic Period, Naqada III Period (probably)
Dimensions: 2 1/8 x 4 1/8 in. (5.4 x 10.5 cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 07.447.485
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: Side, 07.447.485_side1_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Conical Lid