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Clay model house
Clay 'soul house', likely slab-built with additionally elements (stairs, offerings, pillars) shaped by hand and attached. A wooden/plant fibre frame was first constructed, and the clay built around the frame which burnt away in firing. There is a hole visible in the right side of the house, at the height of the first storey, allowing a view through the side of the house. A handprint is also visible on the bottom of the soul house where it was carried following its completion.
'Soul house'. These models provide a dwelling space for the soul of the deceased. It also combines offerings, which can be seen lying on the floor of the lower courtyard. There are stairs on the exterior to allow access to the upper floor.
Given by the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1907
Depth: 38 cm
Height: 29 cm
Width: 34 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1907) by British School of Archaeology in Egypt
12th Dynasty
Middle Kingdom
-2055
-
1650
Accession number: E.58.1907
Primary reference Number: 50994
Old object number: E.P.305
Oldadmincategory: P
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Antiquities
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Clay model house" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/50994 Accessed: 2025-04-14 15:57:18
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/50994
|title=Clay model house
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-14 15:57:18|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-50994
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/ant/ant8/E_58_1907_281_29.jpg"
alt="Clay model house"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Clay model house</figcaption>
</figure>
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