Two Terracotta Incense Burners with ‘Horns’ and Vine Scroll Decoration from Tell Atrib (Egypt)

• Authors: Rozalia Tybulewicz
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Among terracottas found in Tell Atrib in the Nile Delta by the Polish-Egyptian archaeological mission, there are two incense burners with ‘horns’ and vine scroll decoration. Both objects were made from a double mould. The first one, found in 1989 (TA 89/166), is almost fully preserved; the second one, discovered in 1978 (TA 87/41), is just a small fragment of a similar object. Archaeological context allows to date the artifacts to the Ptolemaic or Roman period. The closest analogies are known from necropoleis in Alexandria, but similar objects are also attested outside Egypt. The soot traces visible on the better preserved specimen (TA 89/166) confirm that it was used for incense burning. The find context suggests that both objects could have been rather intended for domestic cult than for official religious practice or funerary rituals. The form of the burners, and the horn-shaped projections in particular, suggest their connection to the cult of Egyptian gods.

Keywords

EN

Tell Atrib; Greco-Roman Egypt; incense burner; domestic cult; vine scroll motif

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences)
• Year: 2015
• Issue: 28
• Pages: 191–200

Contributors

author

Rozalia Tybulewicz

• Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN

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