Imported Mycenaean Stirrup Jar

Dynasty Dynasty 18 (Ancient Egyptian, 1550–1295 BCE)

Dynasty Dynasty 19 (Ancient Egyptian, 1295–1186 BCE)

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

Place of OriginEgypt, Balabish, Tomb B 160

Date18th–19th Dynasties (1550–1189 BCE), about 1300 BCE

Dimensions4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm)

MediumTerracotta with slip and pigment

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Fund

Object number

1915.129

Not on View

DescriptionThis is a small, round ceramic jar made of cream-colored clay with a globular (ball-shaped) body. It features a unique handle design known as a "stirrup" shape: a solid, false neck rises from the center top, connected to a strap handle that arches over it, while the actual pouring spout is a separate, small opening on the shoulder. This design allowed the vessel to be carried securely without spilling. The surface is decorated with simple horizontal bands painted in a dull red or brown color. According to the excavators, the vessel originally contained a scented ointment.

Label TextThis vessel was excavated in 1915 by the Egypt Exploration Fund at Balabish, a provincial cemetery site in Upper Egypt. Despite its remote location, the shape is distinctly Mycenaean—a style designed in Greece specifically to transport scented olive oil across the Mediterranean.

Its presence here captures the deep interconnectedness of the ancient world. Whether this jar is a genuine import that traveled 1,000 miles by sea and river, or a local Egyptian imitation of the trendy foreign goods arriving on merchant ships, it proves that international commerce and taste influenced even daily life in the Nile Valley.

Published ReferencesWainwright, G. A., Balabish, London, Egypt Exploration Society, 1920, pp. 65–66, pl. XXV, no. 87.Exhibition History

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