Egyptian New Kingdom pottery beaker and grain measure
E98£200.00
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A Nile clay pottery beaker with a pointed base, slender body and traces of red slip surface decoration. Although primarily used as a drinking beaker, vessels such as this were also used as a means to measure rations of grain or beer given to workers.
Culture 27-jan-6
Egypt, New Kingdom, c. 1570-1069 BC
Size
14.7 x 7 cms
Condition
Rim chipped, surface eroded and slightly friable
Provenance
Ex. collection: Frederick William Robins FSA FRGS, Oxford, UK (deceased c. 1962); thence by family inheritance to present. Indistinct ink reference number on the lower body.
FW Robins collected antiquities in the first half of the 20th Century and published several books including The Story of the Lamp (Oxford University Press, 1939) documenting the development of the oil lamp using over 800 items from his own collection.
Robins was very active in the academic and museum life of Oxford during the 1930’s, mixing with legendary archaeologists such as Sir Arthur Evans and Henry Balfour, and received acknowledgment from the Pitt-Rivers Museum in their annual report 1940-1941 for his voluntary work. The British Museum and the Pitt-Rivers Museum both hold antiquities from the FW Robins bequest, some of which were published by DM Bailey in 1963.
For a similar vessel in the Petrie Museum, London, please see:
https://collections.ucl.ac.uk/Details/collect/60481