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_900x900.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
_200x200.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
_900x900.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
_200x200.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
.jpg "Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription")
LOT 0026
Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription
6TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 in. (87 grams, 55 mm).
Tongue-shaped with low rounded pad on the underside, raised edge with low-relief decoration of grape vines and leaves, the edge with pairs of opposing doves eating grapes; dedicatory Demotic inscription on the underside.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12575-232108.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Atalla, N.S., Coptic Art, Sculptures, Architecture, L'Art Copte, II, Cairo, 1989, figs. pp.109ff., for similar carved interlaces; Rutschowscaya, M.H., Benazeth, D., L’Art Copte en Égypte, 2000 ans de Christianisme, Paris, 2000, figs.109-118; Poupaki, E., ‘Early Byzantine Marble Vases from Kos Island, Dodecanese, Greece’ in Diamanti, C., Vassiliou A. (eds.), Eν Σοφίᾳ μαθητεύσαντες, Essays in Byzantine Material Culture and Society in Honour of Sophia Kalopissi-Verti, Oxford, 2019, figs.2-3, for a possible parallel.
FootnotesThese vessels were used as liturgical objects for church offerings or ritual cult and were extensively employed from late antiquity in ecclesiastical contexts.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0026
Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400€2,090 - 2,780 (for guidance only)$2,430 - 3,240 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Glazed Steatite Amulet of Bastet
Late Period, circa 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
Modelled in advancing pose wearing a tight-fitting robe, cat-headed, with a sistrum in one hand and a Bes head emblem in the other; suspension loop between shoulders. 3.75 grams, 38 mm
François de Ricqlès, Paris, Archéologie, 30 September-1 October 1996, no.332. Private collection, London, UK, acquired from the above sale. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport, dated 2 October 1996. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Bastet is typically depicted with the head of a lioness or domestic cat. The cat symbolises protection, motherhood, and, later, gentleness and domesticity, qualities associated with Bastet, especially in her later evolution from a fierce lioness to a more benevolent feline goddess. The sistrum she holds is a ritual musical instrument associated with Hathor and other birth goddesses and is linked to joy, music, and divine protection. Bastet was often invoked during music and dance ceremonies, and the sistrum reinforces her role in celebration and protection. Bes was a dwarf god known for guarding households, particularly mothers and children. His image on Bastet’s amulet emphasises her protective role, especially at home and during childbirth. -
Egyptian Faience Scarab Wing Pair
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Each flat-section with a band of feathers within the border, two attachment holes. 15 grams total, 43-44 mm
From the private collection of the late Julian Bird, UK, formed since the 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
These wings were once part of a central scarab amulet. Winged scarabs often served as funerary adornments and were believed to symbolise the rebirth and regeneration of the deceased. -
Egyptian Mummy Shroud Section with Hieratic Text
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 480-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
A rectangular section of woven linen textile featuring four lines of neat hieratic text in black. 8 grams, 32 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
From the fifth century B.C., mummy wrappings for the affluent frequently display lines of hieratic script—a cursive variant of Egyptian hieroglyphs used for both daily and religious writings. These often include excerpts from funerary texts like the Book of the Dead, along with prayers and invocations designed to safeguard and guide the deceased in the afterlife. These texts, sometimes accompanied by vignettes, were inscribed directly on the linen strips before or during the mummification process. Some of these bandages could be remarkably long; one example from Brussels, measuring only 6.2 cm in width, spans an incredible 26 metres.
