Chinese Style Hardstone Plaque

Square in plan with rounded corners, upper face developing to a circular mouth with everted rim. 3.95 kg, 15.5 cm high



From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Anatomical detailing to the carapace, head and legs, underside with twelve lines of hieroglyphic text, replicating the royal scarab of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1390–1352 B.C.), commemorating the construction of an artificial lake for his principal wife, Tiye. 326 grams, 98 mm



From a private, UK, collection in the 1980s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

This is a replica of one of several commemorative scarabs issued by Pharaoh Amenhotep III to celebrate various events. The text reads: Regnal Year 11 under the majesty of Horus, the Strong Bull Appearing in Truth, Two Ladies, Who Established the Laws and Pacifies the Two Lands, Horus of Gold, Strong of Arm who Smites the Asiatics, King of Upper and Lower Egypt Nebmaatre, Son of Re, Amenhotep Ruler of Thebes given life, the great royal wife Tiye, may she live, whose father's name is Yuya and whose mother's name is Tjuyu. His majesty commanded the making of a basin for the great royal wife Tiye, may she live, in her town of Djarukha. Its length is 3700 (cubits) and its width is 700 (cubits.) (His Majesty) celebrated the opening of the lake in the third month of the Akhet season, day 16. The procession of his majesty in the royal barge Aten-Tjehen (literally, 'the dazzling sun disk') was in it.

A Tudor or Stuart period lead-alloy 'hornbook': incomplete rectangular plaque with small rectangular handle; bearing raised, moulded text on the obverse with hatched forms between four registers, which frame the letters of the alphabet 'ABCDE/FG[reversed]HIKL/MNOPq/RST[VW]XYZ'; low-relief octofoil in centre to the reverse. 51 grams, 75 mm



Found Yorkshire, UK. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The letter 'U' has been omitted from the alphabet as is common with such objects, as has the letter 'J', suggesting that the book was produced prior to the publication of Charles Butler's English Grammar (1633) which first distinguished between I and J. The letter Z is reversed. Hornbooks were employed as learning aids and commonly made from paper mounted onto wood together with a transparent sheet of horn. Smaller, more portable lead-alloy examples such as this one are generally believed to have been mass produced, whilst still falling within the genre of 'hornbooks'. Interestingly, some scholars have argued that the mistakes and inconsistencies found on lead examples rendered them less effective learning tools, used as children's toys in families with low levels of literacy, or possibly serving as dolls' accessories.