Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, 3rd to 6th Dynasty, ca. 2686 to 2181 BCE. A fine collection of four vessels hand-carved from alabaster. The largest is a squat bowl with thick walls and a wide rim surrounding the interior basin. The bowl may have been an offering vessel for a shrine or for the deceased, and the stone is an attractive pink and beige hue. The three other vessels are petite jars with openings that are just large enough for a finger to be inserted. These may have been used for holding kohl or other cosmetics meant to be applied to the eyelids with a finger or applicator stick. Alabaster was a prized for its lustrous surface as well as its banded coloring; the stones illuminate when held to a light despite their opaque appearance. These cosmetic vessels were probably owned by an elite or wealthy member of ancient Egyptian society; a lovely collection! Size of largest bowl: 2.25" Diameter x 1" H (5.7 cm x 2.5 cm); smallest: 1.25" Diameter x 0.75" H (3.2 cm x 1.9 cm)

Alabaster, which is a form of gypsum or calcite, soft to carve and smooth, was quarried along the length of the Nile, from Giza to just south of Luxor, and the Egyptians made its carved forms famous throughout the ancient world. A thousand years later, the Greeks made vessels like this out of pottery and painted them white in imitation of the beautiful stone.

Provenance: private Corpus Christi, Texas, USA estate collection, acquired 1960s to 1970s

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#165291

Chips to rim of largest bowl and abrasions and chips to base. Nicks and chips to rims of other bowls. Smallest has old inventory label on base. Otherwise intact with light surface abrasions and mineral deposits on all.