Description:

**First Time At Auction**

Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, ca. 2500 BCE. A beautiful miniature vessel of opaque, creamy white alabaster. The rounded vessel has a flattened base and a wide, rounded mouth. Two small holes have been drilled through the rim, probably for suspension. This type of vessel was used to hold cosmetics - the Egyptians are famous for the cosmetics, like black kohl painted around the eyes, worn by both men and women. Size: 1.6" W x 1.3" H (4.1 cm x 3.3 cm)

Alabaster is soft to carve and smooth. A form of gypsum or calcite, it was quarried along the length of the Nile, from Giza to just south of Luxor, and the Egyptians made its carved form 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 into its current form.

Provenance: Ex-private East Coast, USA collection

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#121007

  • Condition: Slight surface wear from age.

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March 27, 2017 10:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000