Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · vessel

Jar, piriform

Source of record: Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)

AI image analysis claude-haiku-4-5

Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A piriform (pear-shaped) jar carved from translucent travertine with a flared rim and smooth, polished surface showing subtle horizontal banding in the stone.

This is a well-crafted piriform jar characteristic of New Kingdom Egyptian stone vessels. The object exhibits the classic proportions of this form: a narrow, flared neck with a rounded rim, and a bulbous, pear-shaped body tapering toward the base. The travertine (Egyptian alabaster) displays a warm, creamy-beige tone with natural veining and translucent qualities typical of this material. The surface is highly polished and smooth, demonstrating skillful stone-working technique. Notably, there is subtle horizontal banding or striations visible on the body, likely representing either natural variations in the stone or deliberate decorative carving. The vessel appears to have been designed for storage of precious commodities such as oils, unguents, or aromatics—typical uses for such vessels in the New Kingdom. There are no visible hieroglyphic inscriptions, cartouches, or representational decoration.

decorative New Kingdom excellent
Materials travertine (Egyptian alabaster)

Connections

Found at Asasif

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116252008 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 16.10.389a, b tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544025 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.