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Vase with Applied Floral Decoration

ca. 100 CE

The polychrome amphora, whose blue and golden tonalities glisten in a plant decoration—a fine example of Egyptian earthenware production at the beginning of the Roman Imperial period—presents itself as a conclusion to the spread of the rituals mentioned here. As its size, state of conservation, and the garland decoration on the shoulder suggest, this vase appears to have served as a funeral urn. The plant wreath and bouquets on the belly of the vase evoke the Hellenistic funeral custom of placing a real wreath, or a gilded bronze wreath, around funeral urns. The tradition of cremation was introduced in Egypt by the Ptolemaic dynasty after Alexander the Great. The ritual of destroying the body was astonishing in a civilisation that, since its prehistoric origins, had made the body’s absolute conser-vation a key element of its identity. While the glazed decoration and the col-our strongly evoke the Egyptian heritage of pharaonic earthenware, the typology of the classical form comes from the Aegean and Rome. The sculpted decoration evokes that of repoussé silverware of the same origin, placing this vase in the category of luxury vases that demonstrated the owner’s social status in domestic pomp, accompanying him in the afterworld. These vases were a less costly substitute for metal vases. Even if the place where this piece was made is difficult to identify, the discovery of fragments in Lower Egypt and the stylistic elements that we have just mentioned make this piece a symbolic work of the artistic fusion specific to the artistic centre that was Lower Egypt and the city of Alexandria during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Louvre Abu Dhabi – Thierry Ollivier

Title: Vase with Applied Floral Decoration
Geography: Egypt
Date: ca. 100 CE
Medium: faience with dark and light blue glaze
Classification: container, vase, tableware
Dimensions: H. 22.5 cm, D. 24.0 cm
Inventory number: LAD 2012.002
Contact for images: [email protected]
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