Fragment thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Fragment

c. 1550 BC - c. 1077 BC (made)
Place of origin

Serabit el-Khadim, in the Sinai peninsula, was an important turquoise mine worked throughout Egyptian history. The miners seem to have come largely from this region rather than the Nile valley; many graffiti were found at the site written in a language now termed ‘Proto-Sinaitic’. In his excavations of 1904-5, Flinders Petrie discovered huge numbers of votive items deposited at the temple of Hathor at the site, mostly dating to the New Kingdom. These were typically small items such as bracelets, plaques, sistra and figurines, usually made of blue-green glazed composition. This turquoise colour was ritually important to Hathor, who amongst many attributes was considered the protective deity of mining regions (one of her many names was ‘Lady of Turquoise’).


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Glazed composition, painted
Brief description
Fragment of a votive plaque, glazed composition, Serabit el-Khadim, Egypt, New Kingdom
Physical description
Fragment of a glazed composition votive plaque. The plaque was once painted with black decoration; the reamins are today illegible.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6.5cm
  • Width: 6cm
  • Thickness: 1cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
.
Object history
Found at Serabit el-Khadim, 1904-5 excavation season.
Summary
Serabit el-Khadim, in the Sinai peninsula, was an important turquoise mine worked throughout Egyptian history. The miners seem to have come largely from this region rather than the Nile valley; many graffiti were found at the site written in a language now termed ‘Proto-Sinaitic’. In his excavations of 1904-5, Flinders Petrie discovered huge numbers of votive items deposited at the temple of Hathor at the site, mostly dating to the New Kingdom. These were typically small items such as bracelets, plaques, sistra and figurines, usually made of blue-green glazed composition. This turquoise colour was ritually important to Hathor, who amongst many attributes was considered the protective deity of mining regions (one of her many names was ‘Lady of Turquoise’).
Bibliographic reference
Plaques are discussed in W.M.F. Petrie, Researches in Sinai (New York: Dutton and Co., 1906): 147-8, Figs. 152, 154
Collection
Accession number
715:2-1905

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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