AN EGYPTIAN BANDED ALABASTER OINTMENT JAR

Late Period, circa 664 – 332 BC An alabaster vessel in the form of an ointment jar with beautiful translucent banding, the body is bulbous in shape, tapering upwards, two lug handles adorn the side of the body, the neck consists of a funnel-like cylindrical tube. This heavy piece of pharmaceutical jar would have been used to store precious ointments. Cf. Hayes, William C. 1959. Scepter of Egypt II: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Hyksos Period and the New Kingdom (1675-1080 B.C.). Cambridge, Mass.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 342.Allen, James P. 2005. "Ointment Jar." In The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt, edited by James P. Allen and David T. Mininberg. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 65, no. 56. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl 2014. Inschriften der Spätzeit, Teil IV: Die 26. Dynastie, 2 vols.. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 581.Size: L:75mm / W:65mm ; 240gProvenance: Galerie Sycomore Ancient Art, Paris/Zug; previously private collection Baselland.