PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY B.C.

The hydria is a distinctively Greek vessel type, and is well represented in Egypt by the many pottery examples found in Alexandria, the so-called Hadra hydriae. The pottery versions, probably made near Knossos on Crete, were mainly used as cinerary urns during the 3rd century B.C. The profile of this alabaster hydria recalls the more common pottery type. Alabaster hydriae are comparatively rare, and must have been commissioned by wealthy Greeks who preferred the more exotic, native Egyptian material. For other examples see pp. 2-3, fig. 5 in Pagenstecher, Die griechisch-ägyptische Samlung E. Von Sieglin, vol. III: Die Gefässe in Stein und Ton, Knochenschnitzereien, and p. 23, pl. XVI in Breccia, Le Musée Gréco-Romain d'Alexandrié, 1925-1931.