Situla with Erased Cartouche of Akhenaten

Description Situlae were vessels used to pour offerings of milk or water in purification rituals. They take the form of a human breast and were associated with the goddess Isis. Situlae were found in temple treasuries at Amarna, the city built by the pharaoh Akhenaten to honor Aten, the sun-disk deity. This vessel continued to be used after the demise of Akhenaten and the king's birth name has been erased. It has a central field containing three columns of inscription executed in dark blue glaze.

Exhibitions

• Millet and Barbizon Art. Matsumoto City Museum, Matsumoto City; Tokuyama City Museum of Art and History, Tokuyama; Kasama Nichido Museum, Kasama City; Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa. 1996.
• Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden. 1999-2001.

Provenance Rev. William MacGregor Collection Sale, Sotheby's, London, 1922, no. 268; Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1923, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Translation] "High priest of Re-Harakhty, who rejoices on the horizon: Nefer-kheperu-Re Wa-en-Re, who satisfies Re (in his) temple, [Akh-en-jth], whose lifetime is long."

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1923