Miniature offering table

Unknown

400–200 B.C. · Bronze or copper alloy · Egyptian Art

Miniature offering tables are a type of dedication to temples in the later periods. On this table loaves and vessels are depicted in relief on the table itself. The spout of the table ends in a lion head, and on the opposite side are two loops where a chain is meant to be attached. Small round elements in each corner of the table may be where elements like falcons or baboons were once attached as on some other tables. A figure of a kneeling offerer would have sat at the rear of the table opposite the spout. The tables seem to have been closely associated with situlae (libation vessels), both from some evidence of finds and from their decoration. It has been suggested that liquid would have been poured from the situla onto the small table as part of a ritual offering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

400–200 B.C.

Medium

Bronze or copper alloy

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Joseph W. Drexel, 1889