SCARCE EGYPTIAN CYLINDRICAL VASE IN THE NAME OF KING NARMER

SCARCE EGYPTIAN CYLINDRICAL VASE IN THE NAME OF KING NARMER
Ca. 3150 BC. A diorite vase with a cylindrical body decorated under the lip with a thin cord, engraved with a hieroglyphic inscription giving the name of Horus of Narmer, with the falcon raised on the serekh. The inscription seems to be a later addition. Narmer, who reigned for about thirty-five years, is considered to be the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt. Originally from Hieraconpolis, he is said to have won a great victory against the north and thus led to the unification of the country. On the famous palette preserved in the Cairo Museum, he is represented victorious, alternately wearing the crown of the south and that of the north; his name is inscribed with the catfish (nar) and the chisel (sea). According to Manetho, he died at the age of 62, perhaps killed by a hippopotamus during a hunting party. His tomb was located in Abydos, in the royal necropolis among a group of thirty-six tombs distributed in three parallel rows. Besides the Cairo palette, other monuments bear his name: the mace head preserved in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and various vases (University of Pennsylvania Museum). Size: 200mm x 90mm; Weight: 1.4kg Provenance: Prince collection, 1990s-2014; Ex. Binoche' Paris, 30 May 2012, Lot 5. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter. This piece is accompanied by an authentication report from Simone Musso, consultant curator for Egyptian antiquities at the Stibbert Museum, Florence, Italy, member of the Nuri Archaeological Expedition.