Doum Palm Fruits

Three dom palm fruits from the Hyphaene thebaica (common name: doum palm). In Joseph Mayer's 1852 catalogue it notes the food and fruit in case 7 were "taken from the tombs at Thebes". Food, including containers of grain and fruit, were often left in a tomb as a food for the deceased. One is in perfect condition and was on display between 1976 and 2008. The other two have some surface loss. About 1874 Charles Gatty wrote on his catalogue slip: "9 specimens of the dates of the doum palm - cucifera thebaica. These were labelled '594' (Joseph Mayer's Egyptian Museum catlaogue) and suppossed to be pomegranates. The real pomegranates have been catalogued in their place (M11113). 6 of these recommended by Dr Birch for sale as duplicate." Typed script: "Six sold as duplicates by Sotheby Wilkinson & Hodge 1878." The object was evacuated from the gallery in 1939 and assigned the ARP [Air Raid Protection] number 1435. CONDITION NOTE 1998: Surface loss, exposed fibrous surface is fragmenting, surface dirt, cracked surface.