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 p633  Incitega

Article by James Yates, M.A., F.R.S.,
on pp633‑634 of

William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.:
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.

INCITE′GA, a corruption of the Greek ἀγγοθήκη or ἐγγυθήκη, a term used to denote a piece of domestic furniture, variously formed according  p634 to the particular occasion intended; made of silver, bronze, clay, stone, or wood, according to the circumstances of the possessor; sometimes adorned with figures; and employed to hold amphorae, bottles, alabastra, or any other vessels which were round or pointed at the bottom, and therefore required a separate contrivance to keep them erect (Festus, s.v. Incitega; Bekker, Anecd. 245; Wilkinson, Man. and Customs, vol. II pp158, 160, 216, 217). Some of those used at Alexandria were triangular (Athen. V.45). We often see them represented in ancient Egyptian paintings. The annexed woodcut shows three ἀγγοθήκαι, which are preserved in the British Museum. Those on the right and left hand are of wood, the one having four feet, the other six; they were found in Egyptian tombs. The third is a broad earthenware ring, which is used to support a Grecian amphora.

Three stands meant to hold jugs: two are made of wood, and have legs; the third is a broad ceramic ring in which the pot nestles comfortably. They are examples of ancient pot-stands known as incitegae.

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