Perfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed Ducks

Perfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed Ducks

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The flask - delicately carved from the rare stone material anhydrite - has the form of a pair of trussed ducklings placed back-to-back. Their necks arch far from the bodies and the joints of their legs make four little knuckles for the vessel to stad on. The birds' eyes are inlaid with copper. Trussed duck were a common offering to the dead. It is, therefore, possible that this vessel, although originally without doubt containing a cosmetic substance, was made for the tomb and not to be used in daily life. Vessels of this material were formerly thought to be of Middle Kingdom date. More recent studies have shown that they should be placed into the late Second Intermediate Period.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Perfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed DucksPerfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed DucksPerfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed DucksPerfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed DucksPerfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed Ducks

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.