Galerie Golconda

Elegant goblet carved out of a single block of calcite (alabaster). Traditionally called “chalice” by archeologists, it has the shape of a goblet with slightly rounded cylindrical sides on a high stem. The lip of the goblet is flat and slim. Traces of a wide, wooden drill bit, used with an abrasive such as sand for polishing the object, are visible. Signs of erosion and some bits missing due to its age. This is a classic shape from the middle Bronze Age in this region. The material is mostly brownish yellow. Fine condition.
The region of Bactria, straddling what is present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, is rich in innumerable mineral and agricultural resources, which permitted it to be populated since the Neolithic era. Today, these goblets’ use still remains unknown: ritual vases, containers for burning perfumed oils, gift between people of stature, all hypotheses are possible. Alabaster was a highly-prized stone in the 3^rd and 2^nd millennia. Tableware made of it has been found in Cyprus, Egypt and Mesopotamia. It is said that the prophet Zarathustra found refuge in Bactria-Zariaspa and that during the Iron Age he spread his doctrine, beliefs later collected in a holy book, the Avesta, finally translated in the 18^th century by the Frenchman Abraham Anquetil-Dupeyron, thus making known to Europeans this very ancient monotheistic religion.