Egyptian model vessels of a founding ceremony
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Object number
AR3300H13
| Object: |
Egyptian model vessels of a founding ceremony
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| Material: |
Clay.
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| Period: |
2620 BC to 2347 BC. 4th to 5th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom. Exact dating based on the timeless vessel forms alone is not possible. We base our dating on the very close parallel to the group of vessels from a founding ceremony in the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, as well as on another parallel in the publication by S. Allan mentioned below. |
| Description: |
Group of clay vessels consisting of seven miniature bowls and three miniature vases. Some of the bowls contain deposits that are preserved food remains. The vessels were used as ceremonial model vessels and were filled with offerings and placed near a foundation stone.
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| Background: |
In the great temple complexes of ancient Egypt, the foundation ceremony was a sacred moment. A connection between divine order and earthly manifestation. Each building originated not merely as an architectural structure, but as a sacred center whose construction was accompanied by established rituals. The pharaoh himself was often part of this process, as it was his divine responsibility to maintain the order of the world. The laying of the foundation stone was accompanied by offerings presented in carefully crafted clay model vessels. These vessels contained symbolic gifts like grain, wine or oil. That would ensure the prosperity and fertility of the future sanctuary. They were incorporated into the foundations and were intended to permeate the temple with ritual energy for all time. Anyone who contemplates the model vessels presented here in our gallery is thus looking at the echo of a living tradition. Whether these ritual vessels are silent witnesses to the construction of a place of worship or to the foundation stone laying ceremony for another imporant building is left to the imagination. |
| Dimensions: |
The clay bowls are 4cm to 5cm in diameter. The clay vases are around 6cm high.
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| Condition: |
The vases are fragmentarily preserved. Most bowls have only minor chips, some with up to 20% missing parts along the rim.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us in 2021 from the German private collection of Professor K.-H. Manegold. Acquired by him from the art trade in the 1970s. Councilor Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Manegold (1930–2021) was a historian and long-time professor at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany. In addition to his academic activities, he was politically and culturally active in Göttingen, Germany for decades, including as chairman of the Cultural Committee and as the initiator of a local cultural award. His interest in archaeology is reflected in his extensive and well-documented collection of Etruscan artefacts, which was published in scholarly publications by his mentor and colleague, Prof. Dr. Raddatz. Individual artefacts from the art trade supplemented his collection. |
| References: |
For a very close parallel, cf. Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München, acc. nos. ÄS 5115, 5118, 5124, 5125, 5132, 5138, 5144, 5147, 5151, 5155, 5167, 5168, 5185, 5192, 5197, 5198, 5202. For similar vessels and a good treatise on ritual vessels in miniature, cf. S. Allan, Miniature and model vessels in Ancient Egypt, p. 21, fig. 2 - in The Old Kingdom Art and Archaeology (Conference Proceedings, 2004). |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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