Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Egyptian Alabaster Jar with Mineral Inclusion, view 8
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Egyptian Alabaster Jar with Mineral Inclusion, view 8
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity
Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Egyptian Alabaster Jar with Mineral Inclusion, view 8 Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity Imposing Egyptian Alabaster Jar - Art for Eternity

Egyptian Alabaster Jar with Mineral Inclusion

16032

$18,000
/
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Early Dynastic–Old Kingdom, ca. 2900–2400 BC

A tall and imposing Egyptian vessel carved from a single block of choice calcite-alabaster (Egyptian "alabaster"), its deep ovoid body rising from a narrow, nearly flat base to rounded shoulders and a short neck finished with a curved disc rim. The form deliberately imitates the ceramic jars of the period, closely paralleling an Early Dynastic wine jar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What sets this piece apart is the stone itself: handsome citron-and-white banding runs the length of the body, interrupted by a dramatic geode-like mineral inclusion — a cluster of grey circular deposits with rust-colored veining — that makes the vessel genuinely one of a kind. Such labor-intensive hardstone vessels, likely worked from the Hatnub calcite quarries, were luxury goods reserved for Egypt's elite and for funerary offerings. Their production flourished from the Early Dynastic Period into the early Old Kingdom, the era that culminated in Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt's first monumental stone building.

Dimensions: 15½ in. (39.4 cm) high x 5½ in. (14 cm) diameter, plus custom mount; this is an exceptionally large survival; most extant examples of the type are a fraction of this scale.

Condition: With old stable surface veining/cracks and a natural mineral inclusion; light wear consistent with age

Reference: Cf. Wine Jar, Early Dynastic Period, ca. 3100–2649 BC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the closely related ceramic form.

Provenance: Acquired by Jack Schachter, New York, from Peter Marino Ltd., New York, 4 September 1996 (accompanying original invoice). Described therein as "An Egyptian Alabaster vase, Old Kingdom."

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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