Unguentaria from the Yunes and the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern of MAE-USP Collections

• Grant number: 25/01568-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology
• Principal Investigator: Vagner Carvalheiro Porto
• Grantee: Pietra de Souza Breviglieri Castilho
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present research aims to deepen the study of unguentaria found in the collections of the Yunes Collection and the Mediterranean and Middle East Collection at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of USP (MMO-MAE). The goal is to create a database and catalog records to add new information to the descriptions in pre-existing archives. Additionally, the study seeks to associate the physical characteristics of these artifacts with their possible functions in their respective periods, in order to identify similarities and differences in typologies. Among the collections to be studied, only the glass unguentaria from the MMO-MAE-a public collection-have undergone analyses linked to the museum's laboratories. In contrast, the ceramic pieces and those from the Yunes Collection-a private collection-have not yet been the subject of investigation. The evident lack of research on these artifacts in Brazil leaves several important questions unanswered, such as their function and context of use, which hinders the understanding of their actual roles in antiquity. Since they are predominantly found in burials and temples, they are widely regarded as funerary and ritual objects. However, it is also important to highlight that they are found, though in smaller quantities, in domestic contexts.