Artwork Page for Offering Table

Details / Information for Offering Table

Offering Table

305–30 BCE

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty

(305–30 BCE)
Medium
granodiorite
Measurements
Overall: 34.6 x 35.2 x 7.2 cm (13 5/8 x 13 7/8 x 2 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.655
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

On offering tables made in earlier time periods, the channel for water usually connects to the main carved surface.

Description

Offering tables were used in ancient Egyptian funerary rituals to create a connection between the realms of the living and the dead. Often located near or inside tombs, the table was placed flat in front of ka statues, figures designed to contain the life force of the dead, with the carved surface facing up. Water would be poured over the table, sustaining the dead with vitality. The carved relief displays images of libation jars, beer jars, fruit, bread, cucumbers, a trussed fowl, and a lotus flower. These foods were associated with the diet of the gods, emphasizing the deceased’s desire to become divine in the afterlife.
A dark gray granodiorite sculpture shaped like a rectangle features a square protrusion at the top center. Within a carved border, tall jars on each side pour zigzagging water toward four circular loaves. A fanned lotus motif sits above these objects, while additional rounded and tapered forms rest along the bottom center. The coarse, speckled texture of the stone highlights the flat, graphic composition of the shallowly carved offering scene.

Offering Table

305–30 BCE

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)

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