EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, DYNASTY I-II, 2920-2649 B.C.

Early Dynastic stone vessels commonly have twin perforated horizontal lug handles on the shoulders. However, there are a number of examples, such as the present piece, that are preserved without the lugs, including one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 15, p. 23 in Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt, and one in the University of Pennsylvania, no. 70a, p. 220 in Silverman, ed., Searching for Ancient Egypt. Silverman explains that "at some point in its use, one of its lug handles broke off" and that "the other lug handle was removed, and the surface of the vase was ground smooth."