An Eternal Bouquet for the Dead
4th century B.C.E.
Maker Unknown
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
This relief of an elaborate floral bouquet, to which ducks are bound below a broad-collar necklace, was the left end of a tomb door lintel. At first glance a decorative floral piece, the bouquet is actually a symbol of life. All its elements are symbols of fertility and regeneration. The necklace symbolizes protection, and the bound ducks the control of malign forces that might threaten the dead. Related Late Period reliefs come from northern Egypt and often show, as does this relief, the influence of works from much earlier periods.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Limestone, pigment
- Locations
- Place made: Egypt
- Period
- Late Period
- Dimensions
- H: 30.3cm; W: 17cm
- Accession Number
- 57.165.1
- Credit Line
- Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
- Exhibitions
- Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Ancient Egyptian Art
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
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