Egyptian Pre-Dynastic Greywacke Palette

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA III, CIRCA 3300–2960 B.C.

5 1/4 in. (238 grams, 13.3 cm).

Circular in plan with smoothed faces, pierced through the edge.

Provenance

Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.

Literature

Cf. Petrie, W.M.F., Corpus of Prehistoric Pottery and Palettes, London, 1917, pl.LIII, 77, for two similar examples from the Predynastic cemetery at Tarkhan.

Footnotes

Palettes were utilitarian objects used in the Predynastic Period to grind and mix mineral-based eye pigments (including ochre, malachite, and haematite). Greywacke cosmetic palettes were easily carved in various shapes and sizes, including zoomorphic representations and geometric forms. The symbolism of this circular palette may be connected to the sun disc, which featured prominently in ancient Egyptian culture.
The palette was so significant in Predynastic society that purely ceremonial versions, often impractically large for their original purpose, were produced for use in temple rituals. The most famous is the highly decorated Narmer Palette discovered at Hierakonpolis.

CONDITION

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LOT 0004