EC257 Fragment of a Bes Vessel
Blue faience fragment showing part of face of Bes. This is probably part of a faience vessel.
The term 'Bes' is applied to a number of deities from the Middle Kingdom onwards. These deities tend to have leonine features and were connected with the sun god. They also seem to have protected women and children. For more information and further references see Anna Stevens 2006 'Private Religion at Amarna', BAR International Series 1587, 31-34. Bes is often, as here, shown as a dwarf god, with a sticking out tongue and a leonine mane.
For information on ceramic Bes vessels See Kaiser, R.K. 2003 'Water, Milk, Beer and Wine for the Living and the Dead: Egyptian and Syrio Palestinian Bes-Vessels from the New Kingdom through the Graeco Roman period' unpublished PhD thesis,