Chalice

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chalices in the form of the blue lily were familiar items among burial equipment beginning in early Dynasty 18 (ca. 1500 B.C.). The flower's association with life and rebirth made it a potent symbol in ritual contexts of all kinds. In Dynasty 21, such chalices were adorned with elaborately detailed relief decoration that amplifies this theme. The principal scene on this example, in a band around the body of the cup, depicts three boats moving to viewer right on a narrow strip of water, all against a marshy background dominated by tall papyrus plants. In the stern of each boat is a female figure, who propels the craft by either pulling on a papyrus stem or using a pole. In the bow of the central boat is a calf; to the right of this, a man walks forward, holding a nest containing a chick. In front of him is a second boat, in this case with two plumed serpent deities in the bow. Behind the central boat is another man, this time carrying a large calf. Fluttering above the bow of the third boat, to the left of this man, is a bird. Above the main register is a narrow band filled with waterfowl and their nests, one of which shows an egg in the process of hatching. The base of the cup is decorated with four sepals and seven petals, enhancing the identification of the chalice with the lily. The stem and foot of the vessel are also adorned with additional plants.

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