Lentoid Bottle ("New Year's Bottle")

Unknown

664–332 BC · Faience · Egyptian Art

This flask was purchased with a bronze neck and handles attached that were later determined not to belong to the piece; it would originally have had a short neck, perhaps in the shape of a papyrus or lotus column, with two handles or heraldic animals (see, for example, 10.130.2016). A floral garland is depicted around the shoulder, and a single column of inscription on one side references the New Year's festival. It is of a type known as a "New Year's Bottle," thought to have been filled with water from the Nile and given as a gift.

Artist

Unknown

Date

664–332 BC

Medium

Faience

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Funds from various donors, 1886