Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History, Stamps & Coins

Front portion of a tapering funerary cone, with the circular flat end impressed with five columns of hieroglyphic text, reading: 'Honoured before Osiris, hereditary prince, Amunhotep, called Huy, this famous person in the entire land, born of the dignitary Hepu'. 220 grams, 71 mm



Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980 when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Although funerary cones of Amenhotep have been in circulation for a long time, his Theban tomb was not documented until 1996, when the German Egyptologist Friederike Kampp-Seyfried recorded it and assigned it the number 396.

Comprising a standing figure of Sekhmet, featuring a plain dorsal pillar with an integral suspension hole, lower legs missing; two hawk-headed Qebehsenuef, Sons of Horus amulets; steatite scarab with base decorated with a cartouche of Thutmose III and a Bes figure flanked by wadj signs 18.01 grams total, 16-53 mm



From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Sizeable portion of a funerary cone with a tapering profile and a circular flat end impressed with a partial stamp, which, when complete with five columns of text, would read: 'Honoured by Osiris, hereditary prince, Amenhotep, called Huy, the famous person in the entire land, born of the dignitary Hepu.' 174 grams, 61 mm



Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980 when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Although funerary cones of Amenhotep have circulated for a long time, his tomb was documented only in 1996 by the German Egyptologist Friederike Kampp-Seyfried (tomb 396), primarily on the basis of the number of funerary cones found at the site. In this example, the cone appears to have been made too small to accommodate the full stamp design.

Irregular fragment preserving portions of two vertical columns of hieroglyphic text, including the lower part of a royal cartouche with an ankh sign beneath. 74 grams, 64 mm



Acquired in March 1979. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.144.

After Akhenaten's death, the pharaoh's monuments were systematically smashed or defaced. Numerous excavations at Amarna rarely recovered complete or near-complete statuary.

Typical mummiform type wearing a lappet wig, with arms crossed and hands holding agricultural implements; uninscribed; mounted on a custom-made stand marked 'Ushabti of Pe-du-asar Persian period'. 41.3 grams total, 99 mm



Acquired Church Street, 14th December 1957, for 10 shillings. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.6.

The 'Pe-du-asar' on the label likely refers to the individual whose burial Flinders Petrie discovered at Abydos in 1902, which contained many blue-glazed, uninscribed shabtis. However, his shabtis have different hand positions and a glassier, often bichrome, glaze, suggesting that this example comes from a different burial.

Figurine of Isis nursing Horus, seated with a sun disc and a horned headdress; dorsal pillar with hieroglyphic text; suspension hole pierced through the back of the headdress; on a display stand with the legend 'Isis and Horus XXVI Dynasty'. 36.12 grams total, 80 mm including stand



Acquired Herne Bay High Street, circa June 1957, for £1.00. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.3.

Isis, one of the principal goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon, was revered as the divine mother, protector of kingship, and mistress of magic. As Osiris's wife and Horus's mother, she embodied maternal care, resurrection, and cosmic order, playing a central role in mythological narratives of death and renewal. Isis lactans statuettes, in particular, emphasise intimate maternal interaction, embodying the protective and regenerative aspects of the Isis-Horus myth. Such bronzes were widely dedicated in temple contexts and domestic shrines, where they served as votive objects invoking divine protection, healing, and royal legitimacy.

Polished to a high standard with curved cutting edge. 551 grams, 12.7 cm



Acquired Glyn Antiques, Portabello Road, 26 November 1960, for £2.00. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.78.

The great British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie recovered numerous polished stone axes from various sites in Egypt. Flint was rarely used, though it was popular for other tools. Instead, other hardstones were favoured (Petrie, W.M.F., Prehistoric Egypt, London, 1920, p. 24, for a brief discussion; pl. XXVII, for illustrated examples).

Three substantial fragments from blue-painted vessels, two with stylised floral motifs and one with a fragment of figurative decoration. 300 grams total, 8.3-13.2 cm



Acquired circa 1979. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

The distinctive blue colour on these pottery fragments derives from a cobalt-and-aluminium slip that reacts during firing. The designs could incorporate floral, geometric, and figurative motifs (for an illustrated discussion of the technical production of blue-painted pottery, see Seyfried, F. (ed.), In the Light of Amarna: 100 Years of the Nefertiti Discovery, Berlin, 2012, pp. 132-135.

Complete cone, preserving its slender tapering form, with the flat circular end faintly impressed with four horizontal lines of abraded hieroglyphic text reading: 'An offering which the king gives to Osiris, lord of eternity, may he give a voice offering of all good purified things, for the ka of the scribe of documents of the god's wife, Qenamun, true of voice'. 450 grams, 21.4 cm



Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980, when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Qenamun's title indicates that he was responsible for the legal correspondence, decrees, and official documentation issued by or sent to the institution of the royal priestess of Amun. Although abraded, this cone is clearer in certain areas of the inscription than the one recorded by Davies and Macadam in their 1957 catalogue of funerary cones. Qenamun's tomb in the Theban necropolis has not yet been identified.

Large portion of the tapering cone with the circular flat end bearing the impressed stamp, with three horizontal groups of hieroglyphs reading: 'Hereditary prince, count chancellor of the king of Lower Egypt, sole companion, overseer of the city, vizier, User(amun), true of voice'. 596 grams, 11.2 cm



Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980 when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

The impressively lofty titles listed on this cone identify the owner as Useramun, here shortened to User. He owned two tombs in the Theban necropolis: one, it seems, for his family (TT 61) and the other for himself (TT 131).

Triangular in plan with rounded edges; with a handwritten label reading 'Polished diorite hammerstone. Egyptian, early Dynastic, c. 3000 BC'. 248 grams, 55 mm wide



From the collection of A.D.Passmore (1879-1958), his collection of flints from the area of Stonehenge was donated to the Ashmolean Museum in the 1950s. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by a copy of an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton.

With a distinctive striated royal nemes headcloth, one large forward-facing ear preserved, and a largely absent face, the gathered 'tail' of the headdress hanging down at the back. 406 grams, 96 mm



Acquired March 1965. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.110.

Dark, hard stones were favoured for royal statuary in the late Middle Kingdom. The internal treatment of the forward-facing ears and the markings of the nemes are comparable to those of more complete royal heads from this period (cf. Bourriau, J., Pharaohs and Mortals. Egyptian art in the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge, 1988, p. 38, no. 32, for a portrait head of Amenemhat III).