Egyptian Basalt Jar With Two Handles

The vessel was carved from a large block of stone. The shape is equally elegant, refi ned and simple: a small trunconical foot supports the ogive-shaped body, which has no neck or shoulder; the lip is thick and rounded. Two small prominent handles are carved horizontally below the lip: they were probably used to insert a cord for a lid attachment or to transport the vessel. Vases of such size and quality that survived to these days are extremely rare. Inside and under the foot of the container, where the surface of the stone is not polished, one can perfectly notice the circular traces of polishing left while manufacturing the jar.

In Ancient Egypt, stone vases were considered as gilt-edged luxury goods: they only appear in royal tombs and in the graves of high-ranking individuals. The art of stone vessels reached its highest level in the Early Dynastic period and during the Old Kingdom already: for instance, the craftsmen working for Pharaoh Djoser were able to fulfi ll the order of several tens of thousands of containers, which were placed in the shops of the Saqqara step pyramid – we talk about 30-40.000 vases, most of which were found broken.

The manufacture of these objects is a frequent theme on wall paintings in the Old Kingdom, but very few ancient workshops were discovered. The iconography suggests that the carver began sculpting and polishing the exterior, before piercing the interior using a drill composed of a stick with a forked lower end, which supported the polishing stone: to guarantee a regular and centered drilling as well as a better stability, the rotation was made by maneuvering the drill alternatively, back and forth. These different operations were performed while placing the vase in the ground or the worktable cavity. The final polishing was performed by rubbing the surface with a hard stone, with sand or with emery. Stone vessels were specifically used as containers for ointments and cosmetic oils, and great care was given to ensure the preservation of these precious liquids through thick and impermeable walls. These substances had many uses in everyday life (medicines), but they were also playing a leading role in the religious sphere (offerings in temples, daily unctions to statues and worship objects) as well as in the funerary one (preparation of mummies, belief in the generative and rejuvenating properties of these substances). It is therefore not surprising that a very large quantity of stone vessels were regularly placed in sanctuaries and in funerary monuments.

The piece is virtually intact; minor cracks and chips. The stone is uniform and charcoal black.

Formerly from the Estate of Henry Blacker, Esq. ; Ex-Sotheby’s London, December 3rd,1991, Lot 77.

ASTON B.G., Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels, Materials and Form (SAGA 5), Heidelberg, 1994. EL-KHOULI A., Egyptian Stone Vessels : Predynastic to Dynasty III, 3 vol., Mainz/Rhine, 1978. PAGE-GASSER M. – WIESE A. B., Egypte, Moments d’éternité, Geneva, 1997, pp. 26, no. 6. On the technique and the production of stone vessels, see : STOCKS D. A., Making Stone Vessels in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, in “Antiquity, A Quarterly Review of Archaeology”, 67, pp. 596-603.