**Originally Listed At $500**

Ancient Near East, Holyland, Iron Age II, ca. 1200 to 586 BCE. A rare and quite impressive tripod bowl, skillfully carved from a single piece of basalt to present a hemispherical form supported by 3 openwork legs with diagonal supports. The smooth interior of the dish suggests it may have been used as a mortar for preparing foods, dyes, ointments, or oils. Tripod basalt vessels like this example are known from tombs dating between the Middle Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Some are of local rock, others imported from Egypt and Crete, stressing the role of polished stone objects as valuable. Similar vessels can be found at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum (accession number 1996-2578), the Penn Museum (object number 31-50-313), and the Amman Archaeological Museum (see "Treasures from an Ancient Land: The Art of Jordan." United Kingdom: National Museums and Galleries on Meryerside, 1991, page 90). Size: 6.8" Diameter x 3.5" H (17.3 cm x 8.9 cm)

Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired before 2003

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#177374

Light surface wear commensurate with age as shown, but otherwise intact and in excellent condition with nice signs of wear and light earthen deposits in areas.