A Very Rare and Early Carved Vessel in the Form of a Hedgehog

Alabaster
Near Eastern
3rd Millennium BC

SIZE: 9.5cm high, 9.5cm wide, 15.5cm deep - 3¾ ins high, 3¾ ins wide, 6 ins deep

PROVENANCE:
Rupert Wace Ltd, London, April 2010
Ex Private English collection

ART LOSS REGISTER: Certificate number: S00036728 / 29th April 2010

The body with ‘cross hatching’ to suggest spines. The small face with two drilled holes to represent eyes and a ‘snub’ snout. The delicate carving allows us a small glimpse into the world, and to see through the ‘eye’ of the sculptor their ‘free style’ and simple, yet superb use to ‘enliven’ the material, in this case, alabaster. Over millennium the surface has developed a beautiful golden ‘patina’.
A similar vessel of a hedgehog can be seen in: Syria, Land of Civilization, Michel Fortin (translation: Jane Macaulay) Quebec, 1999, p. 177 no. 106. However our example is more complete. It was also noted, that the mammal was only found in very small quantities at sites, and vessels in the shape of animals were not for everyday use, but rather for luxury items or ‘cult related’ objects.