AN EGYPTIAN ALABASTER ALABASTRON LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-332 B.C.

拍品描述

AN EGYPTIAN ALABASTER ALABASTRON, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-332 B.C. Of elongated ovoid form, rising from a rounded base through gently tapering sides to a short constricted neck and a broad flat disc rim. Set at the shoulder are two small pierced lug handles, opposed and horizontally projecting, carved in one with the body. The stone is a warm creamy alabaster with translucent passages and natural bands of ochre and honey-brown veining running vertically across the body, the surface retaining a soft polish with light earthen encrustation in the recesses. The vessel belongs to the well-established class of Egyptian stone unguentaria that took their name from this very form, the Greek word alabastron deriving from the material and shape of such Egyptian containers. The lug handles at the shoulder are functional, threaded with cord for suspension, and the wide flat rim served both as a stopper seat and, when sealed with a linen pad, as a means of controlling the flow of viscous contents. The narrow interior bore, drilled from the mouth, is characteristic of the tubular drilling techniques used by Egyptian stone-workers over many centuries. Alabaster, more properly calcite or travertine quarried at Hatnub in Middle Egypt and at other sites along the Nile Valley, held particular value in Egyptian culture. Its translucency was associated with purity, and its cool surface preserved the perfumed oils, scented fats and cosmetic preparations placed within it. Vessels of this material were used in temple ritual, in the toilet of the living, and in funerary provision, where sealed alabastra accompanied the deceased into the tomb to sustain the body in the afterlife. Production of such vessels continued across dynasties with remarkable conservatism of form, the Late Period examples retaining the essential shape established in earlier pharaonic workshops while often showing a slightly more attenuated body and pronounced shoulder lugs. This alabastron exemplifies the enduring stone-vessel tradition of pharaonic Egypt in its final native phase, when older forms were reproduced with continued technical assurance for both ritual and personal use. The clarity of the profile, the confident treatment of the shoulder lugs, and the fine banded calcite together mark it as a characteristic product of Late Period lapidary workshops. Dimensions: Height: 10.5 cm

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