Of Rattles and Rituals: The Anthropomorphic Rattle from the Nelson Glueck Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum
In 1961, Nelson Glueck donated to the Cincinnati Art Museum a large female ceramic figurine which he had obtained in northern Transjordan. Only recently it was discovered that this figurine is a rattle. The fact that the rattle is anthropomorphic, coupled by its uncommonly large size for a rattle, r...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
2001
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1999, Volume: 70/71, Pages: 5-26 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In 1961, Nelson Glueck donated to the Cincinnati Art Museum a large female ceramic figurine which he had obtained in northern Transjordan. Only recently it was discovered that this figurine is a rattle. The fact that the rattle is anthropomorphic, coupled by its uncommonly large size for a rattle, renders the artifact unique. Unfortunately, the anthropomorphic rattle is unprovenanced. Nevertheless, after confirming its authenticity by thermoluminescence analysis, the authors undertook a search to identify the iconographic tradition and functional context of this artifact. The inquiry includes a brief study of extant rattle-type instruments from the ancient Near East and their cultural significance. A detailed evaluation of the Glueck anthropomorphic rattle, especially its iconography, has led the authors to assign it to an Iron II Edomite cultural milieu, specifically to a religious context. The rattle-figurine probably stood in a local shrine and functioned in cult ritual as a musical instrument and possibly as a representation of a goddess. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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