Plate. Ancient Egypt, Thinite Period, 1st–2nd Dynasties, 3150–2686 B.C.

Plate. Ancient Egypt, Thinite Period, 1st–2nd Dynasties, 3150–2686 B.C.
Alabaster.
Provenance: private collection, United States.
Reconstructed from four original fragments.
Measurements: 4.2 cm high; 19 cm in diameter.

This plate is part of the significant body of stone vessels produced during the early Egyptian dynasties. During this period, stone carving reached an extraordinary level of specialization, resulting in vases and bowls with refined profiles, created through a lengthy process of puncturing, grinding, and polishing. Comparable calcite examples from the early dynasties are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.

The piece has an open, shallow shape, with a gently flattened base and curved walls that taper to a thin rim. Its wide diameter, in contrast to its modest height, requires particularly precise carving to maintain the regularity of the profile and a relatively uniform thickness. The translucency and honey-colored hue of the calcite enhance the purity of this essential geometry.

Stone vessels were part of the grave goods of the Egyptian elite from the Predynastic Period onward and became particularly prominent during the First and Second Dynasties. Their manufacture required technical expertise that would prove fundamental to the subsequent development of architecture and monumental stone sculpture. Historical collections such as that of the Penn Museum include alabaster vessels and plates dating precisely from these early dynasties.