Very large Egyptian cosmetic palette
€7,500
available
Object number
AR3554B
| Object: |
Very large Egyptian cosmetic palette
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| Material: |
Dark grey stone, greywacke.
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| Period: |
Predynastic period of Egypt, Naqada I to IIB, circa 4000 BC to 3600 BC. |
| Description: |
Large cosmetic palette in the shape of a barbary sheep. The flat plate has a mostly ovoid body with stylised legs and head. The animal is shown standing, with its head raised high. The curved horns and muzzle are now missing, but the drilled eye is still present. A small hole is drilled through the back, for attaching a string or thong. A large and high quality Predynastic palette with a popular depiction. |
| Background: |
Cosmetic palettes are characteristic for the Naqada culture that flourished in the Nile valley around the 4th Millenium BC. The culture was the seed for the well-known dynasties of ancient Egypt. Hard stone palettes were used to grind and mix cosmetic pigments. They were so precious to their owners that they often accompanied them into the grave. Cosmetic palettes with stylized zoomorphic features were a big fashion during that period.
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| Dimensions: |
27.9cm wide, 18.9cm high. The specimen is impressive due to its size.
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| Condition: |
Very good condition. Minor chips along the edges, larger chips on the legs, and parts of the head missing. But the body is complete and intact. Ancient abrasion marks and deposits from finds are visible on the surface.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us in 2024 from the US art market. Previously in a US ownership. From 2004 to 2015, the palette was on permanent loan or acquired by the Musée d'art et d'histoire, Geneva, Switzerland, inventory number A 2004-0024/dt. Prior to that in the Swiss private collection of J.-P. C. Acquired from Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel, Auction 49, 27 June 1974, lot 3.
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| Publications: |
The palette has received considerable scholarly attention and boasts an impressive publication history. X. Droux, Predynastic Online Database "PONDA", object no. PAL-0004 (added 2021). S. Vuilleumier und P. Meyrat, Sur les pistes du désert (2019), pp. 43ff, Les palettes à fard prédynastiques en forme de bovidés sauvages, this piece: p. 56, table 1 and p. 58, figure 1, no. 4. X. Droux, Riverine and desert animals in predynastic Upper Egypt: material culture and faunal remains (University of Oxford, Thesis, 2015), cat. no. 8.17. J.-L. Chappaz, Enrichissements du Département d'archéologie en 2004, antiquités égyptiennes (Geneva, 2005), p. 365. C. Ritschard, Animaux d'art et d'histoire, bestiaire des collections genevoises, catalogue of the exhibition at the Musée d'art et d'histoire in Geneva from March 30th to September 24th, 2000 (Geneva, 2000), p. 197, no. 54. Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel, catalogue of auction 49, 27 June 1974, p. 5, fig. 3, lot 3. |
| References: |
Cf. H. W. Müller, Ägyptische Kunstwerke Kleinfund und Glas, no. A1. Cf. R. Krauspe, Das Ägyptische Museum der Universität Leipzig, p. 21, fig. 24 right. Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 10.176.84. For comparative palettes in the art market, cf. Christie's London, auction 15 April 2015, lot 149, sold for 7,500 GBP (approximately 10,500 EUR at the time), cf. Bonhams London, auction 28 November 2017, lot 2, sold for 15,000 GBP (approximately 17,500 EUR at the time). |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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