Writing, water and a name

Find the little blue cup in display case 2. It could be easy to pass on your way to something larger, so pause at its surface. Follow the dark signs around the cup. Someone made sure that this small object could carry a name. The name is Paser. He was a vizier, one of the senior officials who helped a pharaoh govern Egypt. This water cup belongs to the time of Seti I and Ramesses II, two kings of the New Kingdom. Its faience surface has a blue and black finish. The writing records Paser’s name and titles alongside an offering formula. Even on something you could hold in one hand, status and belief could sit together. Notice how little space those signs need. The writing identifies Paser and records his position. In this gallery, words appear on objects as well as on large monuments. Follow a line around the cup and look at how the maker fitted it onto a surface that could be held in one hand.