LOT #52088 |
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JUDAEA. Second Temple Period, circa 50 BCE - 70 CE. Ceramic portable incense altar....
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Description
JUDAEA. Second Temple Period, circa 50 BCE - 70 CE. Ceramic portable incense altar. Made of terracotta with traces of greenish pigment still visible, of classic architectural "four-horn" design 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) high 2.9 inches (7.3 cm) wide, with a stepped base terminating in four feet, a box shaped central section supporting the crenellated top, with a stylized "horn" cornice at each corner. Faint signs of scorching on the sacrificial surface, a few small chips, light mineralized deposits, otherwise intact and complete. See Chronicles of the Land (Israel Museum, 2013), page 106, plate 11 for a larger, more elaborate terracotta altar of similar vintage.From the Barakat Biblical Collection, imported prior to 1982. Originally found in the Judean hills, circa 1975.
The design of Biblical incense altars was mandated in Exodus 38: Chapter 38: "(1) And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. (2) And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass."
It is interesting that Pagan altars also adopted the motif of four stylized horns at each corner, indicating the roots for the practice go back to deep antiquity.
Auction Info
2016 November 16 Biblical Archaeology & Related Objects Grand Format Auction #6170 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
November, 2016
16th
Wednesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 3
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