Stone Vessels of Ancient Egypt
By Anthony Huan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonyhuan/49431096813/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95107962
Prior to the building of the first pyramids, Egypt was widely known for its stone vessel production. Beginning in the Late Neolithic, around 5100 BCE, nearly 2000 years before the first dynasty, production of stone vessels for various purposes, some of which were traded across the eastern Mediterranean, began as an industry in what would become the Egyptian kingdom.
By Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China - Ancient Egypt Predynastic Nagada Stone Vases, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101246214
Basalt was one of the first materials used, a relatively hard stone that is fine-grained volcanic rock, many of which were shaped into 'baggy cylinders and lugged ovoid jars', which were similar to shapes to those of pottery or ivory vessels that existed at the time. Maadi, Lower Egypt, near modern day Cairo, was the center of production, with jars made there being imported into what would become Upper Egypt, where there was a more developed and sophisticated funerary practice, of which the jars were a part. In Upper Egypt, materials like a red-white breccia limestone, which has large, broken fragments of minerals in a fine-grained matrix, that was also shaped to imitate pottery.
By Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China - Ancient Egypt Predynastic Stone Vessels, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101246243
Gradually, pottery appeared in Upper Egypt in large quantities, with the import of Lower Egyptian stone jars declining. At the same time, zoomorphic, or animal shaped, vessels and palettes became more common in Lower Egypt, perhaps reflecting a change in political power. As the Early Dynastic Period began in about 3300 BCE, there was an increasing focus on mortuary displays, with the production of stone vessels drastically increasing for the wealthiest. Softer stones, such as travertine, became popular, as well as harder stones such as black andesite porphyry and white phenocrysts, though the latter were only popular in the First and Second Dynasties, while travertine was used through to the Roman occupation of Egypt. Experimentation in techniques showed during this time as well, with the '[s]triations from drills on the inside of the vessels becoming less coarse, suggesting shaped grinding stones rather than flint gouges were used as drill bits' as well as 'the desire to show off by using the toughest rocks available' and purely decorative features with no 'practical purpose'.
By Sailko - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65575912
With the rise of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of building pyramids, a great shift in labor, with the knowledge of stone-working being pushed from vessel making to quarrying the massive stones needed for pyramid-building, both of which required highly-skilled labor, though few artisans. Despite this, the two unrobbed galleries found under Djoser's pyramid, the prototype of those to come built during the 3rd Dynasty, found at least 30,000 vessels, mostly travertine as well as 892 made of gneiss, a metamorphic type of rock that is harder than travertine. Many of these vessels were 'heirlooms, private donations, or even plundered or drawn from old stores' as they were inscribed with the names of Djoser's predecessors. There were also unfinished vessels within those found, indicating a great shift in industry.
By This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60929734
During the 4th Dynasty, there was a marked decline in the quantity, quality, and diversity of stone vessels produced, with an increase of hard stone statues and sarcophagi. Gneiss, basalt, and granite were used as building and sculpture materials, but only rarely for vessels. This indicates that the priority was placed on monumental stonework rather than vessels, a trend that continued through the 5th and 6th Dynasties and 'defined the role of the stone vessel throughout the remainder of pharonic history', being used mostly slightly rough and used to contain oils.
