Egyptian Palette in the form of a Bird

ca 3500 BCE
Unknown Artist (Ancient Egyptian)

Object Type	Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection
Dimensions	5 1/8 x 2 1/4 in. (13.02 x 5.72 cm)
Medium	Stone
Credit Line	Bates College Museum of Art, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Gift of the Marsden Hartley Estate, 1951.2.89
Accession Number	1951.2.89

Possibly acquired through exchange with Dikran Kelekian who dealt extensively in Egyptian art.
Excellent comparisons for subject matter, serrated edges, color, form, and size can be found in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum and in other collections world-wide. Possibly excavated at Memphis in 1903 according to inscription of the verso. Both the nature of the inscription and the date are consistent with work at Memphis, Egypt, at that time. Consult the following source: Corpus of Egyptian Late predynastic Palettes by Francesco Raffaele (http://xoomer.alice.it/francescoraf/hesyra/palette.htm). Museum of Art should consider adding this palette to the corpus as the author requests.
Cataloger: Rebecca W. Corrie, June 30, 2020.