Fake till you make it: an imitation combed jar from Old Kingdom Giza

Egyptian imitations of foreign ceramic forms in either pottery or stone are known from the late Predynastic period onward. Throughout the Dynastic age, local copies of certain types continued in production. During the Old Kingdom, the favoured shape was a flat-based jar with two handles. To Egyptian eyes, it was an instantly recognisable symbol of foreign exotica from the Levant. An imitation Combed jar in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA 20.1914), from the Giza tomb of an Old Kingdom official dating to the late 4th-early 5th Dynasty, was made in Egypt but imitates an imported jar. It served the dual purpose of magically enabling the provision of an imported luxury product for the deceased, and the appearance of royal favour at court.