© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsAncient Near Eastern Art

Fragmentary Vessel

Place ExcavatedJericho, Palestine, Asia

CultureCanaanite

PeriodMiddle Bronze Age II

Date1800-1600 BCE

MediumAlabaster

Credit LineJericho Excavations, 1952-1958

Dimensions5 1/16 x 2 9/16 in. (12.8 x 6.5 cm)

Object number1956.010

Label TextAlabaster vessels were first produced in Egypt as small containers for ointments, precious perfumes, and aromatic oils and were imported to the Levant as well as locally produced. At Jericho, craftsmen used a local alabaster, known as gypsum or calcium sulphate, which was probably obtained from Beisan, 70 kilometers from the site.

The softness of alabaster made it easy to work. A block of stone was cut into a cylindrical shape and hollowed out with a metal chisel or drill. In some cases, the vessels were made in several pieces, with the rim and the neck worked separately and then inserted into the body. Finally, the surface was polished with a finely ground sandstone such as sandquartz.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - Spring 2001
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, October 6, 2001 - February 12, 2018
Published ReferencesKathleen Kenyon, Excavations at Jericho II (London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1965), 197, 301, figure 100.20.

ProvenanceExcavated by Kathleen Kenyon (1906-1978), Jericho, Palestine.

Status

Not on view

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