An early Egyptian Stone Pounder, Old Kingdom, ca. 2543 - 2120 BCE

hard quartzite pounder of domed form, the base flat, finger wear can be found on the smooth external surface.

Stone tools were in use from the earliest times to the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) or even later. Pounders were mainly used in the Old and Middle Kingdom: using a pounder was the main method for working granite. Some were put into a helve. Heavy granite rammers were used as a kind of hammer to drive poles into the ground. The final treatment for the surface of a stone object was grinding with a grindstone, for which many types of stone could be used.

Condition: Shows excellent signs of use with slight losses but otherwise intact and in good condition overall.

Dimensions: Width: 2 5/8 inches (6.7 cm), Height: 2 1/8 inches (5.3 cm)

Provenance: Private collection of Ambassador Morris Draper ( 1928-2005) and Mrs Roberta Hornig Draper ( 1933-2021) acquired in Israel in the 1970s.

Ambassador Morris Draper, was a career diplomat and member of the State Department's Foreign Service for over 35 years. Ambassador Draper served the Department of State and the American people faithfully in diplomatic postings in the Near East, Europe, and East Asia, including as Consul General in Jerusalem and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He was a key player in the Camp David Peace Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979. From 1981-1983, he served as President Reagan's Special Middle East Envoy in negotiations regarding the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon. In many ways our current efforts on behalf of a peaceful, sovereign, independent Lebanon build upon the work Ambassador Draper began over two decades ago.