An Egyptian New Year's Flask
636CB604
Olive green glazed composition flask, of lentoid shape, the shoulders decorated with a broad beaded collar, the neck and mouth decorated in the form of a papyrus-columned umbel with lotus, the handles in the form of seated baboons, resting their snouts in their paws, with hieroglyphic inscriptions reading "It is Ptah who opens
a good year for its (the flask's) owner".
These vessels are known as "New Year's Flasks" because the new year is usually invoked in the inscriptions. According to R. Bianchi in Gifts of the Nile, Ancient Egyptian Faience, New York, 1998, p. 229, nos. 126-127, "the ancient Egyptian New Year started in late summer, when the Nile began its annual flood. The transition between the years was considered fraught with dangers that threatened the cosmic stability of the land and numerous rituals were developed in order to ensure a harmonious transition. It has been suggested that these vessels were designed to contain a liquid used in an unknown ritual connected with New Year celebrations."
These vessels are known as "New Year's Flasks" because the new year is usually invoked in the inscriptions. According to R. Bianchi in Gifts of the Nile, Ancient Egyptian Faience, New York, 1998, p. 229, nos. 126-127, "the ancient Egyptian New Year started in late summer, when the Nile began its annual flood. The transition between the years was considered fraught with dangers that threatened the cosmic stability of the land and numerous rituals were developed in order to ensure a harmonious transition. It has been suggested that these vessels were designed to contain a liquid used in an unknown ritual connected with New Year celebrations."
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American collection prior to 1970. |
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