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

Classic bifacial, teardrop- or pear-shaped form, with a broad, rounded butt and tapering sides that terminate in a pointed tip. 399 grams, 16.5 cm



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.

Large ripple-flaked blade with a curving, serrated cutting edge. 80.5 grams, 17 cm



Found Thebes. From the collection of A.D. Passmore (1879-1958); his collection of flints for 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.

Knapped knife with curved edge; with old collector's record card detailing place of purchase and other details. 41.1 grams, 12.3 cm



Ex Puys-Aubert collection, Alexandria, March 1963, for 6 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 typed information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.106.

With long edges knapped, a rounded point, a forked end, and a rippled surface; with an old collector's record card detailing place of purchase and other details. 38.6 grams, 11.5 cm



Acquired from Elgin Antiques, Portobello Road, 26th 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.77.

These objects were crafted from fine flint and featured a narrow, pointed handle end, once hafted into wood, ivory, bone, or gold, and a broad, serrated, forked blade. Originally used during life, possibly to cut an infant's umbilical cord, they were later placed in male graves as elite ceremonial or funerary objects. Egyptologists often associate them with the pesesh-kef tool used in the funerary 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony, which symbolically restored breath and the senses to a mummy or statue.

Fragmentary limestone head of an elite official carved in the round, wearing a characteristic short wig composed of rows of small, tight concentric curls that completely cover the ears and terminate evenly at the brow; the rounded right side of the face preserves a carefully rendered almond-shaped eye, a raised relief eyebrow, and small yet prominent lips, with a custom wooden mount. 2.91 kg total, 25.4 cm high including stand



From the private collection of Norman Davis, Seattle, U.S.A. Received as a gift from Norman Davis in 1973. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13519-262983.

An irregular, elongated limestone fragment intricately carved in low, raised relief, depicting the head and neck of a male figure facing right, wearing a tightly curled wig and a short beard, his arm extended upwards, likely to support the large basket resting on his head. 180 grams total including stand, fragment: 14.5 cm wide



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

The downturned eyebrow above an almond-shaped eye with a sharply defined eyelid and a long, thin cosmetic line, the small, fairly rounded nose with a lightly drilled nostril above rather thick lips, and the chin below obscured by the short beard are characteristic of the archaising style of the early 26th Dynasty. Artisans of that period adapted and refined earlier Old Kingdom artistic traditions, most apparent in the tomb scenes of high officials at Thebes, particularly those of Montuemhat (see the discussion: der Manuelian, P., 'Two Fragments of Relief and a New Model for the Tomb of Montuemhet at Thebes', Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 71 (1985), pp. 98–121).

Upper half of a mummiform figure (feet missing), with a black-painted tripartite wig, crossed arms subtly modelled in relief, and hands holding hoes rendered in black; two globular water pots (?) on the back, with a bold black line beneath; a hieroglyphic text on the lower body, reading: 'The Osiris Wennefer'; mounted on a display stand. 61 grams total, 11 cm including stand



Acquired from the Egyptian Exploration Society, 30th June 1965, for 2 shillings and sixpence. 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.118.

Wennefer, a common name, particularly in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, which loosely translates as 'the perfect being', was also an epithet of Osiris.

Rounded tongue-shaped mould with an impressed cartouche containing the throne name of Akhenaten, Nefer-kheperu-Re (meaning 'Beautiful are the Manifestations of Re'). 4.26 grams, 25 mm



Acquired 7th February 1962, for 5 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.86.

Moulds like this were used to produce faience amulets or inlays bearing the pharaoh's cartouche. Akhenaten's throne name, Nefer-kheperu-Re, remained unchanged throughout his reign, while his birth name changed from Amenhotep IV ('Amun is satisfied') to Akhenaten ('Servant of the Aten').

Irregular fragment with a partial cartouche in sunk relief, containing the final part of Akhenaten's throne name, Nefer-kheperu-Re (meaning 'Beautiful are the Manifestations of Re'), with traces of blue and white pigment. 157 grams, 10.5 cm



Acquired in March 1977. 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.128.

Due to the destruction of Akhenaten's royal city, Akhetaten, most monuments and statuary were recovered in fragmentary condition (for example, Peet, T.E., Woolley, C.L., The City of Akhenaten, Part I, Excavations of 1921 and 1922 at el-'Amarneh, London, 1923, pls. XXXII-XXXIV, for several fragmentary architectural elements bearing Akhenaten's cartouches).

Rectangular block with a dressed face, preserving most of a low-relief cartouche containing Nefertiti's name, 'Neferneferu[aten] Nefertiti'. 1.13 kg, 11.2 cm



Acquired in March 1977. 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.129. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13493-262901.

Most inscribed objects related to Akhenaten or his family were systematically smashed or defaced after his death. Some scholars think that Nefertiti then took the royal name Neferneferuaten and may have served as a co-regent or an independent ruler.

The front portion of a tapering funerary cone with the flat circular end impressed with three complete and one partial column of hieroglyphic text, reading: 'The Osiris, weapons bearer of Thutmose I, Aakheperka, true of voice [before the great] god'. 413 grams, 93 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.

Aakheperka's tomb remains unknown.

Ellipsoid in plan with an impressed cartouche for 'Tutankhamun, ruler of Hermonthis'. 6.5 grams, 29 mm



Acquired Caledonian market, November 1958, for 2 shillings and sixpence. 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.50.

Moulds like this were often used to produce faience ring bezels (cf. Seyfried, F. (ed.), In the Light of Amarna: 100 Years of the Nefertiti Discovery, Berlin, 2012, p. 100, fig. 2, for an example of a similar mould and a faience ring bezel for Akhenaten). Hermonthis, also known as Armant, was called ı͗wnu-šmꜤw by the ancient Egyptians and regarded as the southern counterpart to the solar temple complex at Heliopolis.