Decorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming Atumemtaneb

Decorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming Atumemtaneb

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wine services do not seem to have a long history in Egypt, but appear to have been introduced in the New Kingdom when wine-drinking became a feature of elite society in the Ramesside Period. Most if not all of the vessels in Tell Basta find belonged to just such a wine service associated presumably with a temple festival. This pitcher was likely used to pour wine in celebration of a divinity – an Asiatic goddess to judge from other vessels belonging with this one. It is dedicated to the royal butler Atumemtaneb, who was also a royal envoy to all foreign lands. The decoration below the lip of the jug shows marsh scenes with cattle, horses, and goats nibbling trees; the base is embraced by petals; and the handle has a lioness-head at the join to the neck.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Decorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming AtumemtanebDecorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming AtumemtanebDecorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming AtumemtanebDecorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming AtumemtanebDecorated Jug with Feline-Head Handle naming Atumemtaneb

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.