Moderators: MichelleH, Minimalist, JPeters
This is carved out of stone..country..no idea, maybe old Asia?circumspice wrote:Stone or ceramic pottery?
Where did you acquire it? When?
Just an observation: It looks like a decorated mortar that has no pestle...
The face on it looks veiled, so maybe Middle Eastern? Is that a representation of a person carrying a basket with a 'tumpline'???
After taking a 2nd look, it also looks like a chimpanzee knuckle walking...
Very well spotted Sir, it should be grinding tool..I never had such idea on my mind, i was looking at something as ritual vessel etc.circumspice wrote:If it is made out of stone, I think it could be part of a Mortar & Pestle set, used for grinding. It has a bowl shaped section that looks like it could have been used to grind a small amount of some substance like herbs or seeds.
I'm curious about the hole that is drilled horizontally through the top part. I wonder what purpose it serves.
Good questioncircumspice wrote:You didn't post a photo of the bottom of the object. Why?
apologies, simply i think i forgot how it is important, here you go; circumspice wrote:I doubt that the object is made of carved stone.
First, the weight... It's too light for its size.
Second, the holes... Admittedly, I have only seen your photos... However, it seems to have several holes all over the object. The holes seem to show that the object is hollow.
Maybe the object is ceramic pottery.
Hi there,Springhead wrote:Hello,
As in Minimalist's post, the piece does look like some sort of dog. The "bowl" structure looks as if it is designed to pour from the upper part of the image where the "lip" is partially out of the image frame. In the right facing profile, I can see a bearded standing man in the lower part of the image under the "jaw." This looks like intaglio. I also am picking up other carved faces on the exterior among the textural surface carvings. There appears to be a face in the bottom of the bowl that looks human or a human animal combination. Perhaps the hole is for a cord to hang the piece, or maybe where a shaft could be put through to pivot the piece in pouring. Looking at the bottom, it looks like it could be limestone which could explain the porous nature of the material around the rim. It may be useful to inspect the bottom carefully with a lens to see any very small carved subject matter, not to mention checking out the entire surface of the piece.
Folks are skeptical about micro carving as being the realm of the fantast, but I have a feeling that there may be a great deal of subject matter virtually hidden due to its small scale.
There also appears to be some interesting carving on the lower part of the bowl lip at the bottom of the bowl image. This looks like some type of script, though it is unclear what type.
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