Vase; Egypt, Early Dynasties, 2920-2575 BC.

Vase; Egypt, Early Dynasties, 2920-2575 BC.
Alabaster.
Presents, restorations in fracture line, slight flaws and puncture on the lip.
Measurements: 8.5 x 7.5 cm.
Cylindrical alabaster vase with round base, high and flared body and flat rim.
flat rim. In ancient Egypt, alabaster bowls were considered luxury items, only appearing in royal tombs and the highest ranking tombs. Chronologically, they appear at the beginning of the third millennium BC, and are more frequent at the end of Dynasty II. The art of carving stone vessels reached its peak as far back as the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom. Stone vessels were mainly used to contain food, ointments and cosmetic oils. Thanks to the thickness and impermeability of their walls, they allowed a good preservation of the products. They have many uses in everyday life, but also played a prominent role in religious activities; offerings in temples, daily anointing of statues and objects of worship, and in the funerary world, for the preparation of mummies, as well as in the belief in the rejuvenating and regenerating effect of these substances. Therefore, it is not surprising that a large number of stone vessels were regularly deposited in tombs and burial complexes.