Relief fragment of a perfume press

Relief fragment of a perfume press

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This small fragment of relief comes from a representation of a wine or oil press. The angular pole at the right belongs to a wooden construction from which hangs a sack in a net. Tightening the sack with a lever pressed the contents together until the last drops of liquid oozed out of the bottom. The presence of a woman in this scene (part of her body is visible at left) suggests that we are seeing the production of perfume from flowers soaked in oil. Significantly, one of Neferu’s titles was “the one who sweetens the hall with her fragrant smell.” For other reliefs from the tomb of Neferu, see 31.3.1 and 26.3.353*.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.