Jar

Finely carved ovoid shaped jar with pointed base and curved rim. Marked in ink: "Nagada. Cas. Dec. 23 1901. 1[?]39". Acquired by Cairo based antiquities dealer Michel Casira in 1901. The jar is thought to have previously have been in the collection of Martin Kennard (b. 1833, d. 1911) but it doesn’t seem to appear in the catalogue of the four day auction at Sotheby’s, London 16 – 19 July 1912. By at least 1922 the jar was in the collection of Reverend Randolph Berens (b. 1844, d. 1923) and was exhibited at the 1922 ‘Exhibition of Egyptian Art’ at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, London. A photograph of it was included in the accompanying catalogue (pl. XXVII, no. 25). After the death of Revd. Berens the breccia jar was sold by Mrs Berens at Sotheby’s in 1923 (either at the 29 or 31 July sale). The jar made its way into the collection of Sir Francis Danson of Liverpool (either purchased at auction or from Talbot Ready). Sir Francis was an average adjuster, calculating liabilities for marine insurance, and as a pastime he collected Egyptian and Classical antiquities. After his death in 1926 his collection passed to his son Lieutenant Colonel JR Danson who bequeathed the collection to World Museum in 1977.