**Originally Listed At $300**

Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, ca. 2300 BCE. A miniature alabaster vessel, painstakingly carved by hand. The piriform vessel sits on a flat foot and has a large, round rim with a flat top that mirrors the shape of the foot. This type of vessel was made to hold offerings in a tomb, perhaps something precious to the ancient Egyptians like kohl. Size: 1.4" W x 1.4" H (3.6 cm x 3.6 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. The Egyptians made carved alabaster 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. On this example, as you examine the interior, you can see the grooves left behind from carving and smoothing it to its current form.

Provenance: Ex- Arte Primitivo Gallery, NYC

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#120150

Losses to rim and foot as shown. Old accession number written on the foot.