Egyptian Breccia Stone Vase

Early Dynastic Period, 3rd millennium BC or later. A carved breccia vessel with piriform body, everted rim, two integral loop handles and discoid foot. Cf. The British Museum, museum number EA36358, for similar. 350 grams, 10cm high (4"). UK art market in the 2000s. London, UK, art market. Property of a London gentleman. Stone vessels were made in the Nile Valley from as early as the 4th millennium BC using a variety of stones, such as diorite, calcite, volcanic ash and pink limestone, that were mostly quarried in the western desert. Production was at its most popular between the Naqada Period, (4000 BC) to the end of the Old Kingdom (2181 BC"). They were labour-intensive pieces that were made by chipping a block of stone into a rough shape and then hollowing it out using a hand drill, which, judging from artistic representations of workers, composed of a piece of wood weighted at the top by two stones tied to it, with a borer, probably of flint, slotted into its base. Sand was used as an abrasive for both the inside and outside of the vessels. The exterior was polished by hand probably by using sand and oil. [No Reserve]
Condition Report: Fine condition.