Blue-Painted Storage Jar

Place of OriginEgypt, Akhetaten (modern Tell el-Amarna)

Date18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1350 BCE

Dimensions12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)
12 1/2 × 8 × 8 × 5 3/4 in. (31.8 × 20.3 × 20.3 × 14.6 cm)

MediumEarthenware with paint.

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Society

Object number

1925.771

On View

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

DescriptionFrom Amarna?

Label TextThis large storage jar is an excellent example of “blue-painted pottery,” a short-lived ceramic tradition of the later Eighteenth Dynasty. The blue lotus, an emblem of rebirth, ppears often on these vessels, its petals curling around jar shoulders like those seen here. Similar jars are shown in tomb paintings, sometimes draped with garlands and set out during feasts or rituals. Excavated at Tell el-Amarna in the 1923–1924 season, this jar was allocated to the Toledo Museum of Art by the Egypt Exploration Society. It is securely identified by its excavation number and matches other published examples from the site. Although its pointed base would have required a stand or embedding in earth, the vessel was clearly more than functional. Its elegant form and symbolic decoration reflect the distinct aesthetics of Akhenaten’s court and the refined artistry of Amarna’s ceramic workshops.Published ReferencesLuckner, Kurt T. "The Art of Egypt, Part 2." Toledo Museum News, New Series: Vol. 14, No. 3, Fall 1971; repr. Fig. 5, p. 64.

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. 59, repr. (col.).

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