{"id":239,"date":"2022-04-05T13:16:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T17:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/?page_id=239"},"modified":"2023-01-27T11:31:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T16:31:40","slug":"alabastar-jar","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/alabastar-jar\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabastar Jar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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      AWG1980.01.02
      \nEgyptian
      \nEarly Dynastic period or later (after       2925 BCE<\/a>), probably Old Kingdom<\/strong>Material: <\/span>Egyptian alabaster - calcium carbonate<\/span><\/a>
      \n<\/span>Technique: Carved with the use of hand drill to create a center opening - no evident traces of machine manufacturing<\/span><\/p>\n

      Weight: 476g
      \n<\/span>Dimensions: 11.35 cm high, 5.1 cm diameter at base, 7.3 cm diameter at widest point, 4.6 cm diameter at thinnest point, 7.3 cm diameter at mouth, 4.3 cm diameter opening at top
      \n<\/span>Condition: Good to excellent, with minimal chipping or other damage<\/span><\/p>\n

      Provenance: Unknown, said to be from Egypt
      \n<\/span>Source\/donor: Estate of May Keller
      \n<\/span>Date of acquisition: 1980
      \n<\/span><\/p>\n

      Research by: Madison Phillips, \u201923<\/span><\/p>\n

      Detailed description:<\/strong>
      \n<\/span>Small jar with flared mouth and broad flat rim, tapered neck, and flat base. Light pink, translucent stone. Symmetrical body with no visible decoration (bands result from natural coloration of stone).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Comparanda:<\/strong>
      \n<\/span>For the general shape and design, see <\/span>      Egyptian Alabaster at the Heart Museum of Anthropology<\/span><\/a> (No. 5-11383). <\/span>For comparable jar shape and flat rim, though with more squat profile, see jars from the <\/span>Brooklyn Museum<\/span><\/a> (No. 13.1031) and <\/span>Metropolitan Museum<\/span><\/a> (No. 35.3.22a, b). <\/span>Similar drilling striations occur on the interior of an Old Kingdom jar in the Hearst Museum, Berkeley (<\/span>No. 6-10018<\/span><\/a>; Hester and Heizer 1981, fig. XXI). Another jar in the Hearst collection (<\/span>No. 5-11386<\/span><\/a>; Hester and Heizer 1981, fig. XVII-2) offers a good parallel for the size of our jar and the shape of the mouth and rim.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Discussion:
      \n<\/strong>This small jar is composed of Egyptian alabaster, also known as calcite alabaster, which closely resembles genuine gypsum alabaster. Egyptians began carving this stone into vessels and other objects in the Early Dynastic period. Alabaster was widely used and prized by the ancient Egyptians since it was easy to work with and was also thought worthy of being possessed by the gods, perhaps because of its translucence. To make a vase like this one, a piece of worked flint or sandstone would be attached to the bottom of a post with handles affixed to the top to act as a borer, which would then be spun to carve the center chamber of the vessel. This method of carving the vessel creates the characteristic ridges seen inside many alabaster jars. Such jars could have been used as storage for every day or burial items. The small size of our jar suggests that it may have been used to hold perfume or oil.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The high value Egyptians placed on a healthy, beautiful appearance led to the development of effective sunblocks, moisturizers, oils, and cosmetics. For instance, oils mixed with jasmine kept the sun from damaging the skin, animal fats were used as moisturizers, and honey was used as a sweet, aromatic moisturizer. The iconic eye makeup we associate with ancient Egypt, which can also be seen on the lid of Ti-Ameny-Net\u2019s coffin, was a mixture of oil and kohl. This style of makeup was considered stylish, absorbed light from the harsh sun to prevent glare (much like modern football players\u2019 eyeblack), was thought to symbolize holiness, and had significant religious importance. Kohl and other cosmetic creams were stored in alabaster vessels like this one and often buried alongside the dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Bibliography:
      \n<\/strong>\u201cEgyptian Alabaster.\u201d CAMEO, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 2020. <\/span>      http:\/\/cameo.mfa.org\/wiki\/Egyptian_alabaster<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Hester, T. R., & Heizer, R. F. (1981). <\/span>Making stone vases: Ethnoarchaeological studies at an alabaster workshop in Upper Egypt<\/span><\/i> (2nd ed., Vol. 1). The International Institute for Mesopotamian Area Studies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Jacknis, Ira. \u201cEgyptian Alabaster.\u201d Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, November 15, 2017. <\/span>https:\/\/hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu\/egyptian-alabaster\/<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Kuhlman, Katie L. \u201cThe Contents and Significance of Egyptian Alabaster Jars,\u201d May 16, 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Samuel, Alan, Peter Dorman, Edward Wente, Alan Bowman, and John Baines. \u201cThe Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods.\u201d Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica. Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica, inc., July 2, 2007. <\/span>https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/ancient-Egypt\/The-Predynastic-and-Early-Dynastic-periods<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Totelin, Laurence. \u201cCleopatra's Eye: The Significance of Kohl in Ancient Egypt.\u201d The Recipes Project, November 27, 2018. <\/span>https:\/\/recipes.hypotheses.org\/12837<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      van der Plas, Dirk. \u201cAlabaster.\u201d The Global Egyptian Museum | Alabaster, 2006. <\/span>http:\/\/www.globalegyptianmuseum.org\/glossary.aspx?id=48#:~:text=From%20the%20Early%20Dynastic%20Period,of%20limestone%20%2D%20calcium%20carbonate<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      AWG1980.01.02 Egyptian Early Dynastic period or later (after 2925 BCE), probably Old KingdomMaterial: Egyptian alabaster – calcium carbonate Technique: Carved with the use of hand drill to create a center opening – no evident traces of machine manufacturing Weight: 476g Dimensions: 11.35 cm high, 5.1 cm diameter at base, 7.3 cm diameter at widest point, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5468,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page-template.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[207586],"class_list":["post-239","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":666,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/239\/revisions\/666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/urancient\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}