An Egyptian Steatite Offering Spoon, New Kingdom, 1550-1075 B.C.

Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck, New York, acquired prior to 1978

Resandro collection, Munich

Christie’s, London, The Resandro Collection, July 3rd, 2018, no. 10, illus

PUBLISHED

Isabel Grimm-Stadelmann (ed.), Aesthetic Glimpses, Masterpieces of Ancient Egyptian Art, The Resandro Collection, Munich, 2012, p. 47, no. R-160

Egyptian offering spoons dating to the New Kingdom frequently take the form of bound animals, as is the case of the present example which depicts a back to back heads of trussed ducks or geese. Scholars suggest that these spoons served a ritual function during the climax of the funerary ceremony, which occurred when the mummy was once again able to eat. These spoons thus assume the double purpose of both being a functional utensil which aids in the eating process and an embodiment of food itself. For another steatite offering spoon in the form of double ducks at the Egypt Centre in Swansea, see https://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/the-collection-2/the-collection/w1022/.