Funerary and afterlife objects
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Funerary jar
Stoneware with incised and carved decoration under celadon glaze The fanciful shape of this jar, with its six tubular spouts, is intriguing and remains difficult to explain. Urns of this shape, which were employed to store rice and other grains used in burial ceremonies, are among the earliest types of ceramics produced in the Longquan kilns located in Zhejiang Province not far from those producing Yue wares The latter are often credited as the first celadon in Chinese history.
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Travelling Boat being Rowed
From Upper Egypt, Thebes, Southern Asasif, Tomb of Meketre This model of a riverboat was found with twenty three other models of boats, gardens, and workshops in a hidden chamber at the side of the passage leading into the rock cut tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II of Dynasty 11 and continued to serve successive kings into the early years of Dynasty 12. Meketre is seated smelling a lotus blossom in the shade of a small cabin, which on an actual boat would have been made of a light wooden framework with linen or leather hangings. Here the hangings are shown partly rolled up to let the breeze into the cabin. Wooden shields covered with bulls' hides are painted on each side of the cabin roof. A singer, with his hand to his lips, and a blind harper entertain Meketre on his voyage. Standing in front of him is a man, probably the ship's captain, with his arms crossed over his chest. He may be depicted awaiting orders, but he may also be paying homage to the deceased Meketre. As the twelve oarsmen propel the boat, a lookout in the bow holds a weighted line used to determine the depth of the river. At the stern, the helmsman controls the rudder. A tall white post amidship supported a mast and sail (not found in the tomb), which would have been taken down when the boat was rowed downstream—as it is here—against the prevailing north wind. Going south (upstream), with the wind behind it, the boat would have been sailed. The boat is similar to one Meketre might have used in his lifetime. Certain details, however, suggest that on this voyage Meketre is traveling toward the afterlife. For instance the blossom he holds is the blue lotus, a flower the Egyptians associated with rebirth.
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Canopic jar with jackal head
From Upper Egypt, Thebes, el-Khokha A set of four canopic jars was an important element of the burial in most periods of Ancient Egyptian history. Canopic jars were containers in which the separately mummified organs would be placed. The best known versions of these jars have lids in the shape of the heads of protective deities called the four Sons of Horus. The human-headed Imseti was the guardian of the liver; the baboon-headed Hapy looked after the lungs; the jackal-headed Duamutef was responsible for the stomach; and the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef cared for the intestines. The lid of the jar here is removable, but the cavity is not large enough to hold an organ. The "dummy" jar dates to a period during which the internal organs were mummified and then placed back into the mummy, but canopic jars continued to be included as part of the burial equipment in order to ensure the protection of the four Sons of Horus.
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Shabti of Seniu
The shabti of the chief steward and scribe Seniu is a particularly fine example of this type of funerary figurine from the early New Kingdom. It is inscribed with the spell ensuring that the shabti will perform certain kinds of labor for the deceased in the afterlife. This work included maintenance of irrigation canals, and cultivation of the fields. The shabti was discovered during excavations by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition. It had been broken and mended in antiquity suggesting that it was valued by its owner.
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Faience djed-pillar amulet
From the Cesnola Collection Symbolic objects used for amulets include a menat-pendant, the djed-sign, and a papyrus capital, all common in Egyptian architecture. A pectoral used on mummies, a bunch of grapes or other clusters of fruit, and an inscribed bead are also represented.
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Funerary Cone of the Scribe Min
From Upper Egypt, Thebes, Khokha The stamp on this cone is type 222 in A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones compiled by Norman de Garis Davies and published by M. F. Laming Macadam in 1957 by Oxford University Press.
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Terracotta funerary plaque
In the latter sixth century B.C., the elaborate series of funerary plaques set into the walls of rectangular tombs were replaced by single plaques with holes for attachment. The chariot race, a recurring theme in Attic funerary art, may evoke the funeral games held in honor of legendary heroes, such as those in book 23 of the Iliad, when Achilles honored his deceased friend Patroklos.
Marble funerary lekythos
The monument was presumably erected in memory of the young long-haired girl who clasps her father's hand while her seated mother presents a bird to her little sister.
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Marble cinerary chest
The Latin inscription was copied from a Roman funerary plaque and added to this chest during the 17th century. As such it bears witness to the growing awareness of and interest in epigraphy among scholars and collectors in Renaissance Italy. Until the cataloguing of ancient inscriptions began to be systematic and comprehensive in the early 19th century it was quite common for antiquities to be enhanced by the addition of false inscriptions. Indeed, examples of epigraphic forgeries are known even today.
Marble plaque with funerary inscription
The Latin inscription probably comes from a columbarium, a communal chamber tomb. It reads: "To the spirits of the dead. For C. Porcius Dionysius, who lived 8 years, 10 months, and 13 days. C. Porcius Dionysius made [this] for the sweetest of sons." The boy, who was clearly named after his father, died first, exemplifying the high rate of child mortality in antiquity.
Marble funerary relief
Funerary reliefs in the shape of a circular tondo, depicting a man and a woman or, as in this case, the whole family, are known principally from Thrace, northern Greece, and the Danube provinces. Some are inscribed, but this example leaves the man, his wife, and his two sons unnamed.
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Funerary and afterlife objects