Hellenistic Painted Goblets in Alexandria

By Mieczystaw D. Rodziewicz

English summary: For many long years painted goblets were considered as a unique and hard-to-define group of Egyptian ceramics. The rich iconography that they displayed was not understood and they were dated to the Roman and Late Roman period. A close examination of the collection of sherds amassed by Lukas Benaki in the 1930s from the necropolis of Hadia in Alexandria - now held in the British Museum, the Graeco-Roman Museum, Alexandria, and the Benaki Museum, Athens, - and of several complete vases, as well as fragments unearthed in recent well documented excavations in Alexandria, has served to strengthen D. Bailey's proposed dating to the 2nd-1st century BC in the Hellenistic era, and to establish their place of production as the Mareotid. It has been possible to identify scenes of procreation, of childbirth and of banquets, all associated with depictions of bountiful nature, which set these vases within a religious context celebrating life and rebirth. This volume has been awarded the 2020 prize "A la Memoire de Jean Lechant" by the Michela Schiff Giorgini Foundation. French description: Les gobelets peints ont ete durant de longues annees consideres comme un groupe de ceramique egyptienne unique et difficile a definir. Leur riche iconographie restait incomprise et leur datation placee a l'epoque romaine ou romaine tardive. L'examen de la collection de tessons reunie par Lukas Benaki dans les annees 1930 dans la necropole de Hadra a Alexandrie et conservee au British Museum, au Musee greco-romain d'Alexandrie et au Musee Benaki d'Athenes et de quelques vases complets, ainsi que des fragments mis au jour dans des fouilles recentes bien stratifiees a Alexandrie a permis de conforter la datation a l'epoque hellenistique (IIe-Ier siecle av. J.-C.), proposee par D. Bailey et de fixer leur lieu de production en Mareotide. Il a ete possible d'identifier des scenes de procreation, d'accouchement et de banquet, associees a des representations d'une nature prolifique, qui placent ces vases dans un contexte cultuel de celebration de la vie et de la renaissance. Ce volume a recu le prix A la Memoire de Jean Leclant decerne par la Fondation Michela Schiff Giorgini en 2020.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 2490128124
• ISBN13: 9782490128129
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Etudes Alexandrines
• Length: 325 Pages