Two Terracotta Incense Burners with ‘Horns’ and Vine Scroll Decoration from Tell Atrib (Egypt)
Journal Title: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences) - Year 2015, Vol 0, Issue
Abstract
Among terracottas found in Tell Atrib in the Nile Delta by the Polish-Egyptian archaeological mission, there are two incense burners with ‘horns’ and vine scroll decoration. Both objects were made from a double mould. The first one, found in 1989 (TA 89/166), is almost fully preserved; the second one, discovered in 1978 (TA 87/41), is just a small fragment of a similar object. Archaeological context allows to date the artifacts to the Ptolemaic or Roman period. The closest analogies are known from necropoleis in Alexandria, but similar objects are also attested outside Egypt. The soot traces visible on the better preserved specimen (TA 89/166) confirm that it was used for incense burning. The find context suggests that both objects could have been rather intended for domestic cult than for official religious practice or funerary rituals. The form of the burners, and the horn-shaped projections in particular, suggest their connection to the cult of Egyptian gods.
Authors and Affiliations
Rozalia Tybulewicz
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP165476
- DOI -
- Views 88
- Downloads 0
Vertical Sundial from the Madrasa of al-Ashraf Inal (No. 158) on Cairo Northern Necropolis
The primary goal of this paper is a detailed publication of the little known mizwala munharifa (vertical sundial), still preserved on the madrasa belonging to the funerary complex of the Sultan Al-Ashraf Inal (no. 158),...
A Fragmentary Carrying Chair Scene in Salt Lake City, Utah
In the collections of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City is a fragmentary limestone relief of a chair carrying scene. The relief fragment in Salt Lake City was a gift to the museum from Natacha Rambova (née S...
Petempamentes, Petensetis, Petensenis – Their Portraits on Elephantine
The article is a publication of the decoration fragment coming from an unknown sacral building from Elephantine. The scene preserved in the lower register represents Ptolemy VI Philometor making and offering to Petempame...
The Sacred Scents: Examining the Connection Between the ʿntjw and sfṯ in the Context of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty Temples
On the inner north wall of the Southern Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari there is a depiction of the so-called frieze of objects, arranged in two rows. In the upper one vessels with oils contain...
Un Ptolémée, mais lequel ?
On the site of ancient Heracleion, today under water of the Bay of Abukir, the team of the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) found in 2011 the upper part of a masculine statue in black granite, featurin...