Two-handled jar

Object Details

• Description

  Amphora. Sand core vessel with dragged thread decoration. Broken and repaired. A hole in one side.

• Label

  The method of forming glass vessels on a core of sand and clay was introduced to Egypt from neighboring Syria early in the New Kingdom (ca. 1539–1075 B.C.E.). Precisely when and where the twenty examples housed in the Freer Gallery of Art were made is unknown. Comparison with vessels and fragments excavated from royal glass workshops, however, suggests that most of the Freer examples were made during the reigns of the Dynasty 18 pharaohs Amenhotep III (ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E.) and Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten (ca. 1353–1335 B.C.E.). They may likewise be the products of royal workshops.

• Provenance

  To 1909

  Giovanni Dattari (circa 1858-1923), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]

  From 1909 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Giovanni Dattari in 1909 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See S.I. 189, Miscellaneous List, Egyptian Glass, pgs. 1 and 20, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This piece is part of a collection of glass that was purchased en bloc and includes 1,388 specimens (for further purchase information, see the folder for F1909.332).

  [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

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2025)

  The Nile and Ancient Egypt (December 7, 2013 to January 3, 2016)

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

  Ancient Egyptian Glass (August 13, 1994 to July 7, 2005)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (December 10, 1984 to July 10, 1986)

  Ancient Glass (May 26, 1982 to June 25, 1982)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (March 6, 1981 to May 7, 1984)

  Art of Dynastic Egypt (December 15, 1976 to September 22, 1977)

  Ancient Glass (June 1962 to (end date unknown))

  Glass Exhibition, in honor of VI International Congress on Glass (July 4, 1962 to December 3, 1962)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Giovanni Dattari (1858-1923) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Dattari, Giovanni, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Glass, Ancient Egyptian Art, Glass dragging, New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 BCE), Core-forming, Dynasty 18 (ca. 1539 - 1295 BCE)

• Culture

  Egyptians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes