ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ALABASTER CANOPIC COSMETIC JAR NEW KINGDOM 1570 BC 3 INCH HIGH

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Item Type: Egyptian AlabasterItem Description: Egyptian Alabaster Jar"Alabaster is a substance that has been used for thousands of years. Even mentioned in the Bible, it is a fine stone that comes in two main types. The first, called “the alabaster of the ancients,” and hence the one that was used in the period of the ancient Egyptians, is called Calcite alabaster. It is the harder and stronger of the two, and it was used for the beautiful jars, sculpture and vases that have been found over the years. The second type is called Gypsum alabaster, which has more of a softer quality. Gypsum alabaster was used for smaller reliefs and sculptures, and isn’t as strong as Calcite alabaster. Calcite alabaster was used because it was beautiful, and relatively easy to form. Also, there were many Calcite alabaster deposits in Egypt in areas around the towns of Tell el Amarna, and Alabastron, which was named so after the prized material. The ancient Egyptians prized alabaster and even thought of it as being worthy 1 This essay by sophomore Katie Kuhlman received an “Honorable Mention” in the Dunham Bible Museum category in the 2012 “Piece of the Past” museum essay contest. 2 of possession by their gods. The name alabaster might derive from the Egyptian word Alabastre, which honors the Egyptian goddess Bast, the goddess of cats and a guardian of the Pharaoh" - Dunham MuseumItem Size: 3 inches highCountry or Region : EgyptItem Age: AncientProvenance: Ex Marcel Gibrat Collection purchased between 1965 and 1991Authentication performed:Visual Inspection: PASSEDTactile Inspection:Olfactory Inspection:Aural Inspection:Microscopic Inspection:Chemical Testing:Certainty of Authenticity: Reasonably certain, there is no known test for age of stone.For more info do a search for "The Marcel Gibrat Collection" including the quote marks.Marcel Gibrat (Pictured working on a Greek Kylyx in the 1970s), my grandfather, was a Restorer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and later owned a Madison Avenue Restoration Studio and Art Gallery one block from the Guggenheim Museum. From the 1960s to 1990s. Marcel was undoubtedly a genius and was, as far as I know, the only Restorer for the Met without a PhD. In fact he had a sixth grade education. He was also a talented painter.I’m Max Lewin the curator of what remains of Marcel’s extensive art collection, comprising ancient, tribal, Asian and European art. I have grown up around art and antiquities my entire life and am a student of history and ancient cultures. I worked with Marcel summers and in college. I have sold over 1000 items from his collection on eBay since 2003 with a 100% positive rating. Satisfaction guaranteed and returns accepted.Marcel began purchasing antiquities, tribal art, Asian art and European art beginning in the early to mid 1960s and many of the pieces in the collection were purchased at this time. He collected, restored, bought and sold high quality items for the better part of three decades, before falling ill and being unable to work in 1992. Marcel was an unquestioned expert in antiquities and all items in the collection from the ancient world are guaranteed to be authentic. Marcel also had a particular affinity for African tribal art, and while dating such items is problematic, he absolutely had impeccable taste. He started buying these items nearly sixty years ago when some of them were no doubt already quite old. He believed some to be from the 19th, 18th or even 17th century, and some of the items deemed important have in fact been sold for high ticket values at auction. Some of his opinions on provenance of tribal items have been challenged. There are also Asian items of various quality, and many fine and genuine items from primitive cultures including relatively contemporary ( a few hundred years old) and both neolithic and upper paleolithic items. Many of the items have archaeological markings. read more

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