Libation Vessel of Manuwai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuwai was one of three minor wives of Thutmose III whose names suggest that they came from western Asia. When these non-Egyptian women died, they were mummified and buried with the same equipment one would expect to find the tomb of a native Egyptian queen. Among other things, each was provided with a silver canister like this one, which is similar in shape to a type of libation vessel, but has no spout (see also 18.8.20a, b and 19.8.22a, b). The inscription on this vessel reads, "Given as a blessing of the King to the King's Wife, Manuwai, justified." The foreign name can be seen in the column of text on the left written phonetically in hieroglyphs. For objects recording the names of the other two wives, see 18.8.5a, b and 26.8.144.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art