OUTSTANDING EGYPTIAN ALABASTER VESSEL OF DARIUS I WITH QUADRILINGUAL

Egypt, Late Period, 27th Dynasty, Reign of Darius I, 492 BC (30th Regnal Year). A remarkable Egyptian stone vessel dating to the reign of Darius I, during the 27th Dynasty, when Egypt was under Persian rule. The vessel is of elongated ovoid form, with a broad rounded base, tapering shoulders, a narrow plain lip, and two small projecting pierced lugs positioned on opposite sides beneath the rim. The exterior displays a finely polished surface bearing extensive traces of age and mineral deposits. The upper section is decorated with three horizontal lines of cuneiform inscriptions in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian, each conveying the same royal dedication: “Darius, Great King.”On the opposite side, a vertical inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs incorporates the royal cartouche of Darius I and reads: “King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, Darius, living forever, regnal year 30.” The Egyptian inscription is particularly significant for its explicit reference to the thirtieth regnal year of Darius I, corresponding to approximately 492 BC, providing an unusually precise chronological attribution. During the 27th Dynasty, the Persian kings adopted traditional Egyptian royal titulature and presented themselves as legitimate pharaohs, maintaining established conventions of Egyptian kingship. The combination of Egyptian hieroglyphs with Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions reflects the integration of Egypt into the wider Achaemenid Empire while preserving the symbolic and religious traditions of Egyptian royal authority. An exceptionally rare example of Egyptian royal stone craftsmanship from the period of Persian domination, distinguished by its quadrilingual inscriptions and securely datable royal titulature. Accompanied by an epigraphic report by Professor W. G. Lambert, including translations of the Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, and Egyptian inscriptions. In his report, Professor Lambert identifies the vessel as an apparently unique example bearing inscriptions of Darius I in four languages. Size: 270mm x 170mm; Weight: 2.7kg Provenance: Private UK collection; studied by Prof. Lambert in the early 1990s; before that, in the 1970s-1980s London collection. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter. This piece is accompanied by a copy of an original report by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology.

Estimate:$26,790.44

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