Cleveland Museum of Art

Squat Jar with Lug Handles

Date

2950–2573 BCE

Medium

pegmatitic hornblende diorite

Culture

Egypt, Early Dynastic (2950–2647 BCE), Dynasties 1–3

Department

Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A single tomb might contain hundreds of stone vessels replicating the shapes of pottery vessels used in everyday life. The most popular material for stone vessels was white or banded travertine (Egyptian alabaster), found close to the Nile, but prospectors and quarrymen often traveled far in search of the desired materials. The hard stone hornblende diorite, notable for its mottled texture, was quarried in the desert along the route to the Red Sea. The stone used for this vessel, a pegmatitic hornblende diorite whose white crystals contain a faint tint of pink, indicates it must have been considered a luxury item.

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