الصلايات حتى نهاية العصر العتيق : مجموعة زكى سعد نموذجا

Abstract EN

Palettes are flat stones used by the ancient Egyptians to grind their ornamental powders.

Its usually accompany the deceased in his grave since the Neolithic period.

Its evolved over time from simple geometric forms to fish, birds and animals forms to carry different religious meanings and were later transformed into memorial plates Chronicles the events of its era before the invention of writing and then return in the beginning of the dynasties period to Its first geometric forms free of any decoration but a simple incised lines on the external frameworks, the collection of palettes belonging to the cemetery of Helwan in the first and second dynasties is a clear example of that, where most of them came with simple geometric shapes such as rectangle, square or abstract shape of the fish, possibly in the return to their basic function in the powder grinding.

This is confirmed by the traces of colors on some palettes surfaces.