Model Shell
1 of 3
Object Label
The Egyptians believed they would need food and drink in the afterlife. Early Dynasty 12 burials commonly included large wooden models depicting offering bearers or people engaged in activities such as baking bread and brewing beer. Later, under Senwosret III, the large wooden models were replaced by small-scale replicas of food. These faience shells probably represented a variety of Red Sea snail, an ancient delicacy.
Caption
Model Shell, ca. 1836–1700 B.C.E.. Faience, 1 3/16 x 1 7/8 in. (3 x 4.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Peter Sharrer, 82.170.2.
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Model Shell
Date
ca. 1836–1700 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13
Period
Middle Kingdom
Geography
Place made: Egypt, Possible place made: Heliopolis (el-Matariya), Egypt
Medium
Faience
Classification
Dimensions
1 3/16 x 1 7/8 in. (3 x 4.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Peter Sharrer
Accession Number
82.170.2
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