Squat Jar with Lug Handles
Unknown Artist
2950–2573 BCE
Medium
pegmatitic hornblende diorite
Dimensions
h. 13 cm · diam. 21.1 cm
Classification
Vessels
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1914.648
About this artwork
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.