Offering table of Idy

Offering table of Idy Limestone Egypt, Middle Kingdom, 2040–1640 BCE Said to be from Burg el-Arab (Mediterranean coast). Harvard Semitic Museum 1902.17.36 This small square limestone offering table was used for libations and purification rites rather than as a receptacle for actual food and drink. Nevertheless, the food offerings carved on the tablet’s surface indicate the importance attached to feeding the spirit of the deceased, which was accomplished by reciting offering formulas inscribed around the edges. The U-shaped object at top center is a conical loaf of bread. The circular shape to its right is another type of bread. A calf's head, a leg of beef and a trussed bird (right center) are also present. Water pours from two tilted bottles into a small basin. Funerary libations would have been poured into this basin and would have drained away though the shallow spout. > *Scanned by Andréa Martinez with the Artec Space Spider*