Egypt, Old Kingdom, ca. 3000 to 2600 BCE. This is an absolutely gorgeous alabaster cylindrical vase; the bottom tapers to a point and the rim is thick and rolled. There are minor surface deposits within. Alabaster was quarried along the length of the Nile, from Giza to just south of Luxor. Offering bowls like these were used in temples and placed in the tombs of people at all class levels. For example, Auguste Mariette, the famous French Egyptologist of the 19th century, found a cemetery for the poor in Memphis where the dead had been buried without wrappings only three feet below the ground -- but each had a small alabaster bowl and some animal bones, as they had been given food and drink for the afterlife. Meanwhile, kings were buried with many vessels, often of the highest quality. These vessels were necessary to provision the dead during their time in the underworld. Size: 2.25" W x 5.25" H (5.7 cm x 13.3 cm).

Provenance: Ex-Private NYC collection, Marshall S.

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#113128

Very minor restoration to rim; otherwise intact!