Late Period, 664-332 BC. A hollow-formed bronze miniature situla, lotus-shaped in profile with loops to the rim; reserved ornament comprising lotus flowers and stems to the base, frieze of profile gods and attendants, animals between two barques above; mounted on a custom-made stand. 145 grams, 14.5cm including stand (5 3/4"). Property of an Essex lady; by gift, early 2000s; previously with Charles Ede, London, UK. See Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol.20, 2008, for similar. The lotus-shaped situla was a symbolic water vessel used in religious rituals.The waters of the Nile were considered sacred in Egypt and they were used in purifying ceremonies from Predynastic times until the end of the Roman period. Scenes in a number of temples across Egypt depict the king or priests sprinkling water from a situla onto the floor of the inner sanctum as part of the daily rituals for the enshrined deity. In the Greek and Roman periods the cult of Isis gained prominence across the Mediterranean and beyond, and the use of sacred water became an essential part of the rituals associated with the goddess. A number of situla have been found at Isis temples across the Roman empire, attesting to their use. At Pompeii, the temple of Isis had a special building for keeping sacred Nile water, and paintings from the site depict priests holding situla and sprinkling water around the temple complex to purify it. In the famous Roman novel The Golden Ass, by Lucius Apuleius, a scene is described where the priests and devotees of the goddess process the sacred statue through the streets of Corinth on a decorated bier, sprinkling water from a situla to purify the ground before the goddess passes over it.

Fine condition; handle replaced, some losses to body.