This stately drinking chalice, carved from a single block of alabaster, represents a blooming white lotus flanked with handles sculpted in the form of blue lilies, each surmounted by a kneeling figure of the god of eternity, Heh, resting on the sign for infinity and holding the hieroglyphic symbols for 100,000 years of life. It was found directly inside the tomb entrance, apparently the last object to be placed by the burial priests (or abandoned by the graverobbers). Called a “wishing cup” by Howard Carter, the chalice is inscribed with the pharaoh’s royal cartouches and bears a blessing engraved in a band around the lip: May your spirit live and may you spend millions of years, you who cherish Thebes, sitting with your face to the north wind, you eyes gazing upon joy.
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Alabaster Perfume Vessel
Extracted from flowers and various fragrant resins, perfumes were so treasured in antiquity that graverobbers were willing to risk gruesome execution in order to procure the valuable oils. First plundered for its precious metal objects, the tomb was soon raided again and its fine perfume vessels emptied of their priceless aromatic contents. Howard Carter noted that some of the vases still retained the “finger marks of thieves on their interior walls.” Carved on separate pieces of alabaster joined together, this fine amphora and its stand are flanked by 2 handles rendered in the traditional sma-tawy motif of intertwined papyrus and lotus. The neck is decorated with a relief of the goddess Hathor with lotus and a mandrake fruit hanging from her collar. Cartouches bearing the pharaoh’s names and titles are incised on the vase. A pair of ankh signs with arms are holding the hieroglyphic symbol for dominion, while hieroglyphic tadpoles, rings or rope, and palm ribs signify 100,000 years times infinity. Found in the antechamber stacked with a cluster of similar objects, this vessel represented a wish for the pharaoh’s long life and reign, imparted through its fragrant contents.
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Lotus Lamp
The fragrant (and narcotic) lotus plants growing along the Nile were beloved by the ancient Egyptians. In the graceful form of a large blue lotus flower framed between a pair of floating white lotus blossoms, this oil-burning triple lamp was carved from a single piece of luminous alabaster. When found in the Burial Chamber, each of its 3 reservoirs still retained traces of oil. Mixed with salt to lessen the smoke, linseed and sesame oil with floating wicks of braided flax were burned for light. Utterly unique among the pharaoh’s stone vessels, the sophisticated, sinuous design of this delightful chalice belies its profound antiquity
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Magic Chalice
One of the pharaoh’s personal treasures, this enchanting alabaster oil lamp went with him to his grave. Flanked by sculpted handles decorated with traditional images of Heh, the god of infinity, the vessel still bore traces of sesame oil when it was discovered in the Burial chamber. In the form of a lotus, its thinly carved inner walls cleverly concealed a painted scene depicting the great royal wife Ankhesenamun presenting her young husband with ritual emblems symbolizing hundreds of thousands of years. Otherwise invisible, the picture would appear through the translucent stone whenever the lamp was lit, as if by magic.
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MoAW's mission is to educate a diverse audience about the history of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life using fossils and artifacts from a variety of cultures and time periods; to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts, colleges, and universities while providing tourist incentive for the Coachella Valley's hospitality industry.
MoAW is a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organization; Members of the
California Association of Museums (CAM), and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
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Next Week:
Do you have a favorite piece at MoAW you would like to see highlighted in our weekly email? You can visit www.moaw.org, see the collections tab, visit the catalogs and state your choice on the link below.
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Help MoAW reopen during the pandemic.
After shuttering MoAW on 3 separate occasions for 2020. being closed more often than open, and with rising rates of infection, Riverside County moved back to Stay At Home Orders. Help MoAW and other Riverside County businesses reopen. The more people adhere to protocols, get tested, and stay at home, the better for state-wide statistics.
Riverside County offers free testing at several sites, call Riverside County Health to schedule your test,
1-888-634-1123
Thank You
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Members Perks
So many reasons to join MoAW, you help keep the museum open, allow us to acquire new artifacts, plan and present programs including the Second Friday Fantasy, and help local students learn about ancient civilizations and human origins.
For all that you do to help us we thank you in many ways:
- Unlimited free admission for one year
- Free Guest Passes (see Membership levels for details)
- Invitations to Members-Only exhibition receptions and programs
- Priority registration and discounts on programs and special events
- Special rental rates for hosting events (see membership levels for details)
- Copies of exhibition catalogs (see Membership levels for details)
- Unique travel opportunities through the Museum Travel Alliance
During the initial phase of "The Pause" we offered new members two extra months with membership. While we are back in "The Pause" we are offering this again. Current memberships will be extended by the amount of time we are closed and new members, 14 months of membership will start when we reopen. Click below for more information and to join.
Thank you.
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FACES OF AFRICA:
A Mystical View of
Tribal Heritage
(38 Replica Masks and Sculptures)
On View at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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TUTANKHAMUN:
"Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
(124 Egyptian replicas)
On view at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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MESOZOICA:
The Age of Dinosaurs
(Approximately 100 fossil cast dinosaur elements and fully-mounted skeletons from around the world.)
On view at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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LUCY:
The Story of Human Origins
(Courtesy of the Institute of Human Origins and the National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa)
On view exclusively at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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