Cup

Object Details

• Description

  The cup is made in a lotus or inverted bell shape with a flat bottom. The walls are extremely thin and this type of wheelmade pottery has been called egg-shell ware. This specimen has been broken and repaired. The fabric is a pinkish-beige, as visible in an area that has been chipped. The only decoration on the interior is an incised line running around the cup about 3 mm below the rim. The outside bears details painted in a brownish-black colored paint on an unpainted background. Two narrow bands encircle the cup near the upper edge. These lines appear to have been painted by placing the loaded brush in one spot and rotating the cup on a wheel. Both lines slightly overlap their starting points. Four painted lines encircle the cup near the base. The second and fourth lines from the bottom are thicker than the other two. The third line from the bottom has round dots painted over it at uneven intervals resembling round beads or seeds on a string. The central design of the cup is a running pattern of floral elments: thin vines ending in tiny leaves and floral elements and sprigs of grain wind about the cup, forming a natural, non-repetitive frieze.

• Provenance

  To 1907

  Unknown owner, Egypt, to 1907 [1]

  From 1907 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), given by an unnamed individual in Egypt in 1907 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1829, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Charles Lang Freer and Egypt (June 13, 1998 to October 2, 2011)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Sudan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  100s, 400s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Sudan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Meroitic Period (ca. 300 BCE - 400 CE), Pottery, Ancient Egyptian Art, Ceramics, Flowers, Lotus

• Culture

  Egyptians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)