Offered in this lot is a Hand-carved Stone Mortar, circa 12th century, Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan. Provenance: the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection. Owen David Mort was an American engineer who amassed an impressive collection throughout his worldwide travels. His collection has included art, artifacts and other historical items from which he has donated to museums at the University of Utah and Snite Museum of Art, the University of Notre Dame, including African, Afghan, Indian, Mughal, Persian and Far East Asian artifacts. The city of Lashkar Gah, once historically called Bost or Boost, was once the site of a Ghaznavid palace and soldiers' bazaar near the confluence of the Helmand and Arghandab rivers in southeastern Afghanistan. The monuments at Bost include remains from periods of ancient Iranian, Greco-Roman, and Indian domination, as well as the ruins of an imposing fortress, a soaring arch with baked-brick decoration in geometric patterns. The wealth of the medieval city was attested by Arab and Persian writers. Much of Afghanistan's art can be traced back through the invasions, occupations, empires, and dynasties that so frequently have ravaged the country. Afghanistan has been a crossroads of cultures that make up the colorfully robust and dynamic foundation of Afghan art. The National Museum of Afghanistan showcases artifacts from the Ghaznavid dynasty in the 12th Century AD. Mortars have been used in cooking since the Stone Age typically to crush spices and in preparing both medicines and cosmetics. A key advantage of the mortar is that it presents a deeper bowl for confining the material to be ground without the waste and spillage that occurs with flat grinding stones. This stone mortar was used for preparing cosmetics with evidence of use in the bowl. Measures 5.25"H x 3" diameter, weight 3lb, 6oz.