Description:

Ancient Egypt, Late Period, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A gorgeous cream-colored alabaster bowl with a slight lip below its inwardly-curved rim. The alabaster glows warmly when held up to the light. Size: 4" W x 1.5" H (10.2 cm x 3.8 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 - 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.

Provenance: late Allen Davis collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; ex Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, USA

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#128604

  • Condition: Light surface scoring from age, especially around the rim. Two tiny chips from the exterior surface just below the rim. Overall quite nice condition for its age.

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November 9, 2017 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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