Ancient Egypt, Early Dynastic Period, 1st to 2nd Dynasty, ca. 3100 to 2686 BCE. A fine bowl of a minimalist form carved from gneiss of mottled black, dark gray, light gray, and faint green hues. The vessel rests atop a broad, flat base with a squat, upturned rim surrounding the shallow basin. This stone dish was perhaps made for offering and would have been placed into a tomb - indeed, Egyptians had been placing stone vessels in elite tombs from as early as the Naqada I culture (ca. 4400 to 3000 BCE). Stone vessels like this one were created to contain valuable items - food, beverages, unguents, perfumes - and the vessels themselves were similarly valuable, ornamental and luxury objects. The extraction of stone from mines, the transportation of it from mines to workshops, and the craftsmanship required to make such beautiful items mades such vessels quite expensive, and only the most elite individuals in society could afford them. As a result, most have been found in the Early Dynastic royal necropolis of Abydos and in cemeteries in Memphis. Size: 9.875" W x 2.1" H (25.1 cm x 5.3 cm)

Cf. a bowl carved from basalt at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 17.190.1640

Another example of a smaller form hammered for $22,500 at Christie's, New York "Antiquities" auction (sale 15793, October 31, 2018, lot 22).

Provenance: ex-Phoenicia Holyland Antiquities, New York, New York, USA; ex Libert family collection acquired in the late 1980's

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#159359

Professionally repaired from approximately five large pieces, with resurfacing and overpainting along break lines that does not detract from the overall presentation. Minor abrasions to underside, rim, and basin. Great surface smoothness throughout. Base covered with modern green felt.