Ushabti Jar: Old Kingdom
Museum Paper
Ushabti Jar
Old Kingdom
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Domenic DiSalvo
Yael Karmi
Arts2A
Museum Paper: Ushabti Jar
The piece I have chosen to research and write about is from the Rosicrucian Museum, which is known for its Egyptian collection, and the chosen piece is titled by the museum as Ushabti Jar. The piece is protected by protective glass along with other similar art pieces. The art history text, Art Through the Ages, states that an ushabti is a “figurine placed in tombs as servants for the deceased in the afterlife”, thus where the meaning Usabti in Ushabti Jar comes from (Gardner, 60). There is a plaque beneath the Ushabti Jar telling that when ushabti became a more frequent item in tombs, containers were made to store the ushabti, thus creating the name Ushabti Jar (Gardner, 60).
The Ushabti Jar is roughly around 10 inches tall. It appears very old and weathered, and it has small …show more content…
Ceramic is clay, hardened by heat. According to Tour Egypt, a website for an American tourism company that offers tours to Egypt as well as detailed facts and information on Egypt for those who can’t travel, during the Old Kingdom the Egyptians invented the potter's wheel, in which the wheels were hand turned (Dunn). This is why I find that the jar fits more with the Old Kingdom than with the Late Period, for it is a simple design that could’ve been one of the first pieces of pottery made by the wheel. Through personal experience, I believe that’s how this art piece was created, by the artist placing wet clay on the wheel and spinning it, forming an even shape of the clay in their hands, and following that with hollowing out the clay until it is shaped like a jar, and heated in a kiln to dry. After the piece dried, it was then painted by pigments of red, blue, black, and yellow of the scene where the tomb owner is “paying his respects to the Gods, Osiris and
Ushabti Jar
Old Kingdom
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Domenic DiSalvo
Yael Karmi
Arts2A
Museum Paper: Ushabti Jar
The piece I have chosen to research and write about is from the Rosicrucian Museum, which is known for its Egyptian collection, and the chosen piece is titled by the museum as Ushabti Jar. The piece is protected by protective glass along with other similar art pieces. The art history text, Art Through the Ages, states that an ushabti is a “figurine placed in tombs as servants for the deceased in the afterlife”, thus where the meaning Usabti in Ushabti Jar comes from (Gardner, 60). There is a plaque beneath the Ushabti Jar telling that when ushabti became a more frequent item in tombs, containers were made to store the ushabti, thus creating the name Ushabti Jar (Gardner, 60).
The Ushabti Jar is roughly around 10 inches tall. It appears very old and weathered, and it has small …show more content…
Ceramic is clay, hardened by heat. According to Tour Egypt, a website for an American tourism company that offers tours to Egypt as well as detailed facts and information on Egypt for those who can’t travel, during the Old Kingdom the Egyptians invented the potter's wheel, in which the wheels were hand turned (Dunn). This is why I find that the jar fits more with the Old Kingdom than with the Late Period, for it is a simple design that could’ve been one of the first pieces of pottery made by the wheel. Through personal experience, I believe that’s how this art piece was created, by the artist placing wet clay on the wheel and spinning it, forming an even shape of the clay in their hands, and following that with hollowing out the clay until it is shaped like a jar, and heated in a kiln to dry. After the piece dried, it was then painted by pigments of red, blue, black, and yellow of the scene where the tomb owner is “paying his respects to the Gods, Osiris and