<em>Jar with Was-Scepters and Ankhs</em>, ca. 1426–1390 B.C.E. Clay, paint, 17 5/16 x 13 in. (44 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.140. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.16.140_NegB_print_bw.jpg)

Jar with Was-Scepters and Ankhs, ca. 1426–1390 B.C.E. Clay, paint, 17 5/16 x 13 in. (44 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.140. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.16.140_NegB_print_bw.jpg)

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How would this have been stored so it didn't tip over?

These vessels were placed either in holes in the mud floor of a house or in pot stands of clay or wood. Occasionally representations of these vessels show them simply leaning against a convenient wall.

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!

Was this used?

In general, elaborately decorated vessels like these may have been reserved for use on festive occasions or were maybe even ornamental. The blue painted decoration on that vase was probably invented during the reign of Thutmose III. The pigment was made of ground up blue frit, a mixture cobalt and alum.

The fact that this vessel is completely intact strongly suggests that it was found in a tomb or burial, we're not sure if was used before it was buried.

Jar with Was-Scepters and Ankhs

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

Vessels with Blue-Painted Designs

The most innovative pottery of the Eighteenth Dynasty—so-called bluepainted ware—began under Thutmose III.

The pastel pigment was made from groundup blue frit, a mixture of cobalt and alum. Initially, potters relied on blue paint to accentuate small details, such as the grape cluster hanging from a vine on the wine jar in this case. Over time, though, artists began to use blue paint for more complex designs and figures.

MEDIUM Clay, paint

Reportedly From: Samayna, Egypt

DATES ca. 1426–1390 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 17 5/16 x 13 in. (44 x 33 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 16.140

CREDIT LINE Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Large reddish-buff pottery jar of approximately bi-conical shape with high cylindrical neck, elaborately decorated on upper half of body and neck in red, black and blue. Band of varied colors runs around the center of body. Upper part of body beautifully decorated with three large ankh symbols, two of which are flanked by Was Sceptres. Between each of these groups is an elaborate bunch of lotus flowers in red, black, and blue. Neck decorated with conventionalized lotus flowers between red, black and blue banding. Workmanship good; very similar specimens from Tell el-Amarna in Berlin. Possibly this specimen is the one referred to by Wilbour in his letter, as coming from Amarna. Condition: Large chip in rim; also body extensively chipped. Late in 1939 it was observed that the decorated surface of the jar was lifting from the body and beginning to flake off. In February 1940 the object was given several coats of cellulose acetate which seems to have remedied the fault. Surface now strong.

EXHIBITIONS

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

CAPTION Jar with Was-Scepters and Ankhs, ca. 1426–1390 B.C.E. Clay, paint, 17 5/16 x 13 in. (44 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.140. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.16.140_NegB_print_bw.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.16.140_NegB_print_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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