Bowl with head of the goddess Hathor

Dish: low, round, with straight sides. Clay: soft, thickly molded. Glaze: deep, greenish-blue. Decoration: Hathor head and floral motives painted in outline, in manganese, over glaze.

Historical period(s)
New Kingdom, 1550-1070 BCE
Medium
Faience with manganese paint
Dimensions
H x W x D: 4.5 x 15 x 15 cm (1 3/4 x 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1909.145
On View Location
Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt
Classification(s)
Faience, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Egypt, Hathor, New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 BCE)
Provenance

To 1909
Maurice Nahman (1868-1948), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Maurice Nahman, Cairo, in 1909 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1984, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Maurice Nahman (C.L. Freer source) 1868-1948

Description

Dish: low, round, with straight sides. Clay: soft, thickly molded. Glaze: deep, greenish-blue. Decoration: Hathor head and floral motives painted in outline, in manganese, over glaze.

Label

Faience bowls with black-painted decoration were probably used to hold food or liquid offerings to the goddess Hathor, who nourished and protected the dead.

Published References
  • Ann C. Gunter. A Collector's Journey: Charles Lang Freer and Egypt. Washington and London, 2002. p. 49, fig. 2.18.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Egyptian Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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