Egyptians making bread
Painted wooden model group: three figures making bread.
Loaned From: The British Museum
Painted Wood
6th Dynasty; circa 2200 BCE
Egypt
The British Museum
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient Egypt
Theme
Agriculture and Surplus
Subtheme
Surplus and the Road to City-States
Case Title
From grain to bread
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Tomb of Meryrahashetef, Beni Suef, Egypt
Measurements
H. 19.5 L. 43.5 W. 17.5
Accession Number
1923,0113.9
Description
Making bread in life and after-life in ancient Egypt.
This model placed in a tomb shows a kneeling woman grinding grain into flour by pushing a stone roller. A boy mixes flour with water, kneading it into dough. Another woman sits before an oven, tending the fire and shading her face from the glare. Flat loaves of bread are to be imagined inside the oven.
In drier regions, grains were usually ground and baked, in humid regions generally boiled.
