«Your mouth is in good order»: Bull Foreleg Shaped Spoons and the Opening of the Mouth Ritual in Phoenician-Punic Tradition

Abstract

Currently, a total of seven spoons with a decorated bovine leg handle provenient from contexts of clear Phoenician-Punic affiliation are known. These pieces, which have received little attention in historiography, have been held by incense tools. In this study, we aim to propose their use related to an extended ritual known as ‘opening of the mouth’. For this, the role of this liturgy within Ancient Egypt and the meaning and function given to this same type of spoons along the Nilotic tradition are analyzed. Finally, other archaeological objects are reinterpreted as items of this ceremonial within the Canaanite, Phoenician and Punic area in order to reinforce the existence of the ritual of the ‘opening the mouth’ within their religious beliefs.