The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Pomegranate Vase

Pomegranate Vase

1479–1425 BCE
(1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Tuthmosis III (1479–1425 BCE)
blue vitreous faience
Diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.); Diameter of mouth: 1 cm (3/8 in.); Overall: 6.9 cm (2 11/16 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.612
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The small size of the flask, together with its narrow opening, suggests that it originally contained a small amount of precious liquid, perhaps an ancient perfume or an offering of pomegranate wine.

Description

This small, round-bottomed flask takes the shape of a pomegranate. The serrated petals or calyxes that trim the top mimic the turned-back outer husk that is characteristic of this fruit. The flask's aperture is small. Not native to Egypt, the pomegranate (Punica granatum) was introduced from western Asia or Cyprus in the first half of Dynasty 18, probably between the reigns of Amenhotep I and Tuthmosis III. The fruit's novelty, as well as its shape, most likely accounts for its tremendous popularity as a deluxe vessel form at this time. Perhaps best known in Egypt and abroad in the materials of faience and glass, the type also occurs in metal, wood, and stone.
  • Purchased in Egypt by Lucy Olcott Perkins through Henry W. Kent
    1914-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition June 6-September 20, 1916. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916. no. 121, p. 217
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 281; Mentioned: p. 281-282
  • Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 10-July 5, 1998); Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, RI (August 25, 1998-January 3, 1999).
    Untitled Exhibition. Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 13-November 9, 1973).
    Inaugural Exhibition, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 6-Spetmber 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Pomegranate Vase|url=false|author=|year=1479–1425 BCE|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1914.612