Pestle

Small pestle of mottled hard stone for preparing pigments for cosmetic use or for writing. Auction label stuck to the surface on the side. Label stuck to the flat base annotated in ink "Abydos". From which one of John Garstang's excavations? Acquired at Sotheby's July 1922 (MacGregor collection) 1 of 9 items in lot 1097: "seven others [draughtsmen], in porphyry, granite and oter hard stone; and two others; the porphyry and speckled black and white granite specimens from Abydos"