Egyptian Alabaster Storage Jar

Alton Edward Mills (1882-1970), Switzerland; and thence by descent to the present owner.

Intact with no repair or restoration. Some very minor worn scraping around the rim edge. Small linear nick to shoulder on one side. Small nick to top of one handle. Some splatters of brown dirt staining down the side of the vessel under one handle. Underside of base with remains of ink inscribed label and some indistinct numbers in pencil.

Egyptian alabaster is a form of limestone or calcium carbonate more accurately described as travertine that was quarried in Pharaonic times in the area of Middle Egypt. From the early dynastic period onwards it was increasingly used for the production of funerary vessels as well as statuary and altars. The artists obviously chose and carefully shaped the stone to maximise the decorative effect of the natural colour and banding. Egyptian alabaster was their most popular choice of stone because it is soft and relatively easy to work as well as beautifully translucent.