Stone vessel – Zoomorphic, Frog STO-0017
By Droux, Xavier
Archaeological site unknown.
1976 : Bought by Kismet Pilati, Vienna and London (according to Bonhams 2012)). 24.10.2012 : Sale Bonhams, London, Antiquities, lot 284. Before 2020 : Private collection of a British individual, Switzerland (according to TimeLine Autcions 2020). 02.06.2020 : Sale TimeLine Auctions, Harwich (UK), Antiquities and ancient art, lot 33. 05–09.03.2024 : Sale timeLine Auctions, Harwich (UK), Ancient art, antiquities, natural history & coins, lot 29.Collection unknown
Date : Naqada IID
Based on similar examples.
Material : Limestone
Preservation : Complete
Decoration preservation : Good
Preservation information :
Surface seemingly eroded in parts, especially at the rim. Eye inlays, if originally present, are not preserved.
Description
The rim is vertical and without flat lip. The tubular handles, placed roughly in the middle of the height of the vessel, are made in a copper or bronze alloy. They consist of a flat plaque fitting the bulbous contour of the vessel, with the horizontal tubular part in the centre; four pairs of small ticks are incised on each (two pairs above the tubular part, two pairs below).
Decoration
The eyes are rendered as simple, small, rounded depressions that look toward the front . The muzzle is marked at its extremity with two oblique ticks representing the nostrils, and with a horizontal line for the mouth. The front legs are folded beneath the head, the feet joining just below the mouth, with four fingers each. The back legs are folded under the back end of the body, each feet showing four fingers and ending in a straight edge.
Dimensions (cm)
6.4
Additional information
Closed
convexe base
Comments
The greenish indurated limestone in which the object is carved is rather unusual; the object may have been produced elsewhere than in Egypt, and it authenticity is not certain.
