W1284a

W1284a Fragment of a Hathor vessel

Part of pottery vessel showing a cow’s head, 9.8cm high.

The cow probably represents the goddess Hathor. Such vases seem to have been used from the Middle Kingdom to contain wine or milk. Festivals of Hathor seemed to have contained an element of drunkenness but on many temple estates cows were kept to produce holy milk.  

New Kingdom to Graeco-Roman Period.  

Purchased by Wellcome from the Rustafjaell collection.

See Pudleiner 2001, 239-245 for a similar example. 

W5364 is another Hathor vessel in the collection. 

Bibliography

Pudleiner, R., 2001. Hathor on the Thoth Hill = Hathor sur le Mont Thoth Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Abteilung Kairo,  57, 239-245.