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Egyptian Artifacts

Vase of Woman Holding Anubis

On my most recent trip to the Brooklyn Museum, I saw this piece for the first 𓏃 time and it caught my eye immediately! I don’t remember ever really seeing a piece like this in a museum before and I think it’s stunning!Β 

Vase of Woman Holding Anubis

This is a clay π“Šͺπ“ˆ–π“‹΄π“ˆ‡ vase π“ π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“‹ which depicts a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ holding a jackal π“Šƒπ“„Ώπ“ƒ€π“ƒ₯ or dog π“ƒ€π“Ž›π“ˆ–π“ƒ‘! Some Egyptologists think that this vase π“ π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“‹ depicts a servant woman holding the pet dog π“ƒ€π“Ž›π“ˆ–π“ƒ‘ of her master or mistress. 

During the 18th Dynasty, when this piece was made, a certain group of potters 𓇋π“ͺπ“‚§π“π“­π“€¨π“‡‹π“²π“­π“œπ“€œπ“ˆ–π“†“π“Šƒπ“π“°π“…©π“¦ (possibly all people from the same workshop) made vases π“ π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“‹π“ͺ in the form of humans π“‡¬π“ˆ‹π“π“…±π“€€π“π“¦ and animals! This would have been a complex process, and the potters 𓇋π“ͺπ“‚§π“π“­π“€¨π“‡‹π“²π“­π“œπ“€œπ“ˆ–π“†“π“Šƒπ“π“°π“…©π“¦ would have had to make both halves of the piece separately using a mold for each and then join them together! 

I really like it because I just see a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ holding what looks to be a recumbent jackal – aka Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣! Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 is my absolute favorite Egyptian deity π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ and my first thought when I saw this piece was that I could see Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 in the woman’s π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ arms! I think this piece is so beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 and I think the little Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 is the cutest thing! This piece was made between the reigns of Amenhotep III π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹† and Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 (c. 1479-1352 B.C.E.) and was found at Saqqara (Memphis π“ π“ˆ–π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“‰΄π“Š–).