A GRANODIORITE SHALLOW BOWL

Description:

Egypt, early Dynastic period, Dynasy I - III, 2920-2575 B.C.
D. 25,4 cm
With gently sloping sides and a flat base, the rim turned in, a central depression in the tondo, the surface well polished.
Important Bavarian private collection, purchased at Christie's New York, 6.12. 2007, Lot 2, Provenance: with Mohammed Hassani, Luxor, late 1974-early 1975
Before these vessels were carved in different types of stone, they were made in a similar form from terracotta by Egyptian potters. In ancient Egypt, stone vessels were considered luxury items, found only in royal tombs and in the tombs of the highest ranks. Chronologically, they appear at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC and are most common at the end of the 2nd Dynasty. The art of carving stone vessels reached its peak already in the Early Dynastic period and in the Old Kingdom. The stone vessels were mainly used to store food, ointments and cosmetic oils. Thanks to the thickness and impermeability of their walls, they could store the products well. They were not only used in everyday life, but also played an important role in religious activities: offerings in temples, daily anointing of statues and cult objects and in the world of burials, in the preparation of mummies, as well as in the belief in the rejuvenating and regenerating effects of these substances. It is therefore not surprising that a large number of stone vessels were regularly deposited in tombs and funerary complexes.