Ca. 3100-2500 BC.A stunning alabaster chalice with a tall stem and a conical base topped with a bowl with slightly flaring walls. It has a beautiful cream colour, with brownish veins running through its body. Alabaster was a precious material, widely traded in the region from the 4th millennium BC onward. The purpose of such a vessel is not known. Pieces like this one often came from burials and votive offerings. Along with others that make up the typology of stone vessels, such as column or circular idols, these objects are all characteristic of the Bactrian material culture. For more information on Bactria, see Mairs, R. (ed.) (2020). The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World. London: Taylor & Francis. Cf. Christie's, Live Auction 1915, Antiquities, 6 December 2007, Lot 61.Size: L:135mm / W:55mm ; 345gProvenance: Property of a West London gentleman; previously in a collection formed on the UK/International art market in the 1980s.