Sumerian Conical Stone Bowl
Sumerian Conical Stone Bowl
Carved from a block of pink limestone, this large bowl with a rounded profile has a slightly asymmetrical shape and an irregular edge, nevertheless highlighted by a band with a thicker relief.
3rd millenium B.C.
D: 16.7 cm
In stock
Product Description
Carved from a block of pink limestone, this large bowl with a rounded profile has a slightly asymmetrical shape and an irregular edge, nevertheless highlighted by a band with a thicker relief. The bottom is flat, but has no real base (very unstable balance).
Such a regular shape indicates that the carver would have used a rotating technique, employing some sort of lathe: a tool similar to a drill served to hollow out the interior; the vessel was finally smoothed and polished with emery or sand. Certainly intended to contain perishable liquids, bowls might be used as tableware, as ritual vessels, as grave goods, etc.
In the Neolithic period already, stone vessels had a key role in the Near Eastern economies, since they can be found almost everywhere (from Egypt to the Mesopotamian, Iranian or Bactrian worlds), in many shapes, for varied uses, in various dimensions and stones.
