Ptolemaic-Roman Period, 332 BC-323 AD. A terracotta jar with piriform body, funicular mouth, strap handle to the rear; accompanied by an old collector's note reading 'From the Catacombs at Canopus near Aboukir, Egypt. The entrance is almost in Aboukir on a mound about 150 yards from the sea. Found Jan 1918. T.h.G.'. 233 grams, 13cm (5"). From an old Hampshire collection; found Canopus, Egypt, January 1918 (with label"). The catacombs at Canopus in the Nile Delta near Alexandria belonged to a famous sanctuary, the Serapeum, dedicated to the goddess Isis and her consort Serapis. It was one of the most famous cult centres of Egypt in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The festivals and rites enacted here achieved such fame that it became a model for sanctuaries to the Egyptian gods throughout the Roman Empire. [No Reserve]