Cleveland Museum of Art

Offering Table

Date

305–30 BCE

Medium

granodiorite

Culture

Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)

Department

Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Offering tables were used in ancient Egyptian funerary rituals to create a connection between the realms of the living and the dead. Often located near or inside tombs, the table was placed flat in front of ka statues, figures designed to contain the life force of the dead, with the carved surface facing up. Water would be poured over the table, sustaining the dead with vitality. The carved relief displays images of libation jars, beer jars, fruit, bread, cucumbers, a trussed fowl, and a lotus flower. These foods were associated with the diet of the gods, emphasizing the deceased’s desire to become divine in the afterlife. On offering tables made in earlier time periods, the channel for water usually connects to the main carved surface.

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