Lot 12
Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, 3rd Dynasty, ca. 2686 to 2613 BCE. A superb cylindrical jar that is hand-carved and laboriously drilled from banded alabaster exhibiting warm hues of butterscotch, vanilla, cream, and wheat. The flat-bottomed vessel features thick walls and a flat rim while the interior is meticulously drilled out via hand augers and abrasive sand; a shallow, corseted groove is situated just above the base. Layers of opaque banding flow across the surfaces like the endless sand dunes of the Egyptian deserts of yore, with true, hidden beauty of their colors illuminated when placed next to a light source. Size: 2.3" Diameter x 4.85" H (5.8 cm x 12.3 cm)
Alabaster was quarried along the length of the Nile, from Giza to just south of Luxor. Jars and other vessels like this example 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 vessel 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.
Exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number EL01.073.1996.
Published in Dr. Gerry D. Scott III. "Temple, Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection." University of California Press, 1992, fig. 6a, p. 21.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number EL01.073.1996; Published in "Temple, Tomb, and Dwelling", fig. 6a
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#178979
- Condition: A few petite chips to rim and 5 stable hairline fissures around rim, otherwise intact and choice. Great surface wear and wonderful smoothness throughout. Modern mounting wax on one area of base.
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