Large alabaster vase, 3150-2920 BC
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Links to other views:⇒ Larger Viewif scripting is off, click the ⇒ instead. Links to others from Dynasty 01Gilded statue of a queen, Early Dynastic |
This very large alabaster vase is a masterpiece of thin wall stone craftsmanship—a technology which reached its full potential as early as Dynasty 1 or 2. Vessels such as this one were created five thousand years ago by craftsmen who had no hard-metal tools. They worked for “… predynastic kings, such as Iry-Hor, Scorpion, and Ka, already shown in the form of the serekh, indicating the ownership of the vessel” (Rice 1991:71, Fig. 14). “The making of stone vessels is one of the glories of ancient Egyptian craftsmanship. Even the hardest and most intractable stones were carved with extraordinary precision and assurance. The material also allowed the sculptor to indulge the Egyptian penchant for understatement, allowing the shape of objects and the materials from which they were fashioned to speak for themselves” (Rice 1991:72, Fig. 15). Bibliography (for this item)Arnold, Dorothea (editor)1999 When the Pyramids Were Built: Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Durand, Agnès 1990 Ces Millenaires que l’on dit obscurs. In l’Egypte des Millenaires Obscurs. p. 15-18. Hatier et Musées Nationaux, Paris, France. (92, fig 416) Hoffman, Michael A. 1991 Egypt Before the Pharaohs: The Prehistoric Foundations of Egyptian Civilization. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. (21) Münzen und Medaillen, 1972 Auktion 46. Werke Agyptiescher Kunst fon der Frühszeit bis zur Spätantike. Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, Swizerland. (8, fig 11, 104 8, fig 12, 104) Rice, Michael 1991 Egypt’s Making: The Origin’s of Ancient Egypt, 5000-2000 B.C.. Routledge, New York, NY. (71, fig 14 72, fig 15) |
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