Vessel in the Form of Bes in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, June 2018

Vessel in the form of the God Bes (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

Date: 650-550 BC

Culture: Egyptian

Category: Ceramics, Containers-Vessels

Medium: faience

Collection: Ancient Art

Dimensions: Overall: 5 5/8 × 3 25/32 × 3 3/8 in. (14.29 × 9.6 × 8.57 cm)

Object Number: 93.110


The animal-headed god Bes was a household deity who guided women and children through the perils of pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy. This Bes wears a leopard skin arranged around his neck, a feature that appeared during the Nubian rule of Egypt (Dynasty 25). This vessel once had a lid in the form of Bes’s tall feathered headdress.

Text from: www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-8177537