Nearly all the pieces of pottery found in Egypt belong to those things which went into the daily uses of life. Most of them are of common clay, with common forms, and rude finish; and they seem to have been of all shapes and designed for many purposes. Great casks, vases, pots for oil, for grain, for meats, for wines, for drugs, for lamps; children’s marbles, checkers, toys, rings, amulets, bottles, etc., etc., are among the many things shaped by the potter in Egypt.
Of those things made for ornamental purposes, there still exist some vases which approach the simple beauty of the Greek; of which we give one as pictured by Wilkinson in his work upon the antiquities of Egypt.
Fig. 27 is an Egyptian kylix or drinking-cup. It much resembles the Greek kylix or cylix, except that the foot is less perfect.
Fig. 32.—The Departure of Achilles, from Vase in the Louvre.
The highly-ornamented bottle ([Fig. 28], aryballos) is another thing made purely for purposes of luxury, which Potiphar’s wife used to hold her dainty perfumes—perfumes which, we may easily believe, would add to her dangerous charms. It is modeled from the African calabash, which was the first vessel used there for carrying water. Form and decoration are both perfect in this small bottle.