Jar with Floral Collar in Relief
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Stone Vessels in the New Kingdom
Because stone vessels are more durable than pottery, Egyptians often made them to be left in tombs as funerary gifts meant to last for eternity.
In the New Kingdom, most stone vessels were made of Egyptian alabaster, a soft white to yellowish-white material that geologists call calcite. Calcite was mined in the Sinai Peninsula and in the eastern desert stretching from Cairo to Luxor. Stones such as basalt, quartz crystal, obsidian, porphyry, schist, steatite, and serpentine were reserved for luxury items.
The exotic forms of foreign stone vessels appealed to New Kingdom craftsmen. Two examples seen here—the amphora with two handles and the footed dish, or tazza —were inspired by Syrian models. Also, the jar with the high cylindrical neck reproduces a Cypriot pottery type known as base-ring ware. Decoration tended to rely on traditional Egyptian patterns. For example, painted or incised floral garlands appear on many stone vessels made in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. This design alludes to the Egyptian funerary practice of draping collars of flowers around pottery vessels.
To make a vessel, a carver first chiseled a block of stone into a general shape, then slowly rotated it on a wheel while polishing the exterior with an abrasive such as sand or emery. Finally, he hollowed out the interior using a drill with a metal or hard stone bit.
Because stone vessels are more durable than pottery, Egyptians often made them to be left in tombs as funerary gifts meant to last for eternity.
In the New Kingdom, most stone vessels were made of Egyptian alabaster, a soft white to yellowish-white material that geologists call calcite. Calcite was mined in the Sinai Peninsula and in the eastern desert stretching from Cairo to Luxor. Stones such as basalt, quartz crystal, obsidian, porphyry, schist, steatite, and serpentine were reserved for luxury items.
The exotic forms of foreign stone vessels appealed to New Kingdom craftsmen. Two examples seen here—the amphora with two handles and the footed dish, or tazza —were inspired by Syrian models. Also, the jar with the high cylindrical neck reproduces a Cypriot pottery type known as base-ring ware. Decoration tended to rely on traditional Egyptian patterns. For example, painted or incised floral garlands appear on many stone vessels made in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. This design alludes to the Egyptian funerary practice of draping collars of flowers around pottery vessels.
To make a vessel, a carver first chiseled a block of stone into a general shape, then slowly rotated it on a wheel while polishing the exterior with an abrasive such as sand or emery. Finally, he hollowed out the interior using a drill with a metal or hard stone bit.
MEDIUM
Egyptian alabaster (calcite)
DATES
ca. 1292–1190 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 19
PERIOD
New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS
11 1/4 × 9 13/16 × 11 1/8 in. (28.5 × 25 × 28.3 cm)
mount (m2): 11 1/2 × 11 × 10 in. (29.2 × 27.9 × 25.4 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.386E
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Large banded alabaster jar with two vertical stirrup handles; carved and ornamented with necklace and pendant of floral design-necklace, as well as exterior rim, decorated with checkerboard pattern. Under the left handle are the hieroglyphical numerals for nineteen denoting that it contains nineteen measures of that period.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Jar with Floral Collar in Relief, ca. 1292–1190 B.C.E. Egyptian alabaster (calcite), 11 1/4 × 9 13/16 × 11 1/8 in. (28.5 × 25 × 28.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.386E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.386E_overall_PS22.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 37.386E_overall_PS22.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2024
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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