Egyptian Diorite Offering Cup, ex-Sotheby's

**Originally Listed At $1200**

Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, 3rd to 6th Dynasty, ca. 2686 to 2181 BCE. A beautiful offering cup of a petite size, hand-carved from speckled diorite of black and white hues. The inverted piriform body has a lightly-corseted form which tapers towards a bulged ring which surrounds the hollow base and expands to a thick rim and a shallow basin on top. Carved stone vessels like this example were intended to be filled with offerings and left as votives at temples or shrines devoted to specific deities. A fabulous and rare example from ancient Egypt! Size: 1.75" W x 2.1" H (4.4 cm x 5.3 cm).

A stylistically-similar example, of a larger size and from the Middle Kingdom Period, hammered for GBP 8,125 ($10,642.37) at Christie's, London Antiquities auction (sale 10372, April 15, 2015, lot 38).

Provenance: The Dere Family Collection, New York, USA, assembled 1970s-2000s; ex-Sotheby's, New York "Egyptian, Classical, and Western Asiatic Antiquities Including Property from the Collection of the Late Marion Schuster, Lausanne" auction (December 7, 2001, part of lot 206); ex-Norman Blankman Collection, New York, USA, acquired in 1950s

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#146199
Condition Report: Repaired from roughly three large pieces, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor abrasions to foot, walls, and rim, with light encrustations within some recessed areas. Light earthen deposits throughout.