Description: An alabaster cosmetic pot of squat baluster shape, the lip with several chips and some small chips to the base, but a nice form.
Size: 45 mm/1.8 ins. high, the wide flat lip 48 mm/1.9 ins. in diameter.
Culture: Egyptian
Date: Middle or New Kingdom, mid to late 2nd Millennium B.C.
Provenance: Ex Peter Negus Collection. Previously with Helios Gallery, Kingsdown, Wiltshire.
Background: Peter Negus (1920-2012) was a prolific collector who worked in the insurance industry for most of his life. His wife worked for Coutts Bank for many years and they shared an enormous passion for natural history, geology and archaeology, amassing a large and rather indiscriminate collection of fossils, shells and ancient artefacts. He was particularly interested in ancient corals publishing two scientific papers on the subject, which included descriptions of new species. He also had a particular interest in conservation and Egyptology, buying many Egyptian artefacts from dealers in the Drury Lane area of London. He was a member of the Geologists’ Association for over 50 years, acting as Treasurer from 1979 to 1988. Well-known for his geological and archaeological interests and as a colourful raconteur, he left much of his estate to the Egyptology Department of University College, London.
