**First Time At Auction**

Ancient Egypt, Late Period, ca. 712 to 300 BCE. An incredible near-translucent alabaster offering bowl with steeply sloping sides, a thick lip, and a diminutive flat foot. The alabaster is a gorgeous buttery color that glows when held to the light. Size: 4.55" W x 2.6" H (11.6 cm x 6.6 cm)

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; however, 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 provide for the dead during their time in the underworld.

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection

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#132848

Repaired from three pieces. Repairs are well done and difficult to see, although there are some small losses along their edges. Light surface encrustation.