Sumerian Vessel in the Form of an Ostreich Egg in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, November 2009

Vessel in the Form of an Ostreich Egg
Gold, lapis lazuli, red limestone, shell, and bitumen
2550-2450 BCE
Ur, Iraq (PG779)

B16692

Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.

Gold

Gold would have been imported from Anatolia, Iran, and the Indus valley. At Ur, golden objects are almost always made of alloys of gold and coppper or gold and silver. Pure gold is extremely rare. This is probably both because gold was a scarce and precious commodity, and because the color and appearance of the alloys was preferred. Gold and copper alloy is reddish, whild gold and silver (electrum) is silvery.

Text from the U. Penn. Museum label.