Chalice in the form of a Lotus

Period Third Intermediate Period (Ancient Egyptian, 1070–664 BCE)

Dynasty Dynasty 21 (Ancient Egyptian, 1070–945 BCE)

Period New Kingdom Period (Ancient Egyptian, 1550–1070 BCE)

Place of OriginEgypt

Date20th Dynasty (1189–1077 BCE), about 1080 BCE

Dimensions6 1/2 × 3 5/8 × 3 3/4 in. (16.5 × 9.2 × 9.5 cm)

MediumEgyptian faience

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1983.12

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextToo fragile for daily use, this elegant cup was probably used only for pouring ritual funerary offerings of wine, milk, or water to the gods. Its form resembles the Egyptian blue lotus, a symbol of rebirth. Around the top a cow nurses her calf, a bull struts, and a lion attacks a calf, together symbolizing childhood, maturity, and death. Around the middle, “dancing” cranes beat their wings, symbolizing the spirit set free. The animals are shown against stylized papyrus plants, representing the marshes of the Nile River where Egyptians believe all life began.Published References

Müller, Hans Wolfgang, "Goldschmuck und ein Fayencekelch aus dem Grabe des Herihor," Pantheon III, XXXVIII, July/August/September 1979, pp. 237-246.

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 103, no. 1382, March 1984, no. 122, repr. p. 20.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 7, repr. (col.)

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 66, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 7, repr. (col.)

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 70, repr. (col.).

Exhibition History

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Hands On Egypt, TMA interactive family gallery, Gallery 3, Sept. 18, 1998 - Aug. 31, 2000, made possible by a grant from the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Tait, G.D.A. "The Egyptian Relief Chalice," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 49, 1963, pp. 93-139.

See also Goff, Beatrice L., Symbols of Ancient Egypt in the Late Period, New York, 1979, pp. 43-52.