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LOT 0006
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron with Vestigial Lug Handles
LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-332 B.C.
6 1/8 in. (440 grams, 15.5 cm high).
The elongated oval body on a flat base, with gently curving shoulder and two elegant duck-head shaped vestigial handles.
ProvenanceMary Stout Shaw (1880-1962); thence by direct descent to the present owner.
Accompanied by a copy of a 1976 family photo featuring some of the collection on display.
See Aston, B.G., Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels: Materials and Forms, Heidelberg, 1994, pp.162-163 (Third Intermediate Period), p.166 (Late Period), for the type; for a museum comparable, cf. Liverpool Museum, acc. no. 1973.1.225.
FootnotesMary Kilgour Stone was born in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio. On 25 November 1903, she married Percy Wyfold Stout from Gloucester (DSO, OBE, 1875-1937), who had moved to Cairo after an international rugby career.
After fighting in the First World War, Percy became the Director of the Egyptian Delta Land Company and the Anglo-American Nile Tourist Company. He and Mary were friends with the famous Major Gayer-Anderson, who worked as a doctor on the company’s cruise boats between 1930 and 1939. Gayer-Anderson tells in his memoir how this allowed him to make frequent trips to Upper Egypt and fulfil his passion for collecting (and dealing in) ancient Egyptian art.
In his company, Mary became an enthusiast about all things Egypt and formed an elegant collection of ancient Egyptian alabaster vessels,
including the following lots. She was particularly fascinated with the ancient cat goddess Bastet. Therefore, when Gayer-Anderson decided
to give his famous ancient bronze cat to the British Museum in 1939, he made sure the donation was in both his name and Mary Stout Shaw’s, as a tribute to their friendship.
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LOT 0006
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron with Vestigial Lug Handles
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Panel with Four Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Restrung as an openwork panel with a winged scarab above and the Four Sons of Horus below as two opposing pairs; restrung with some later beads. 34.6 grams, 15 cm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
These elements would have been placed on the chest and body below a beadwork mummy mask. Winged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and believed to symbolise the deceased's rebirth and regeneration. The Four Sons of Horus protected the deceased's internal organs. Here, on the left, is the erect-eared jackal-headed Duamutef who protects the stomach, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who protects the intestines, then the human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver and, finally, the baboon-headed Hapy on the right, protector of the lungs. -
Egyptian Silver Cat Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with fur detailing and suspension loop to the back. 1.58 grams, 12 mm
From an early 20th century collection.
The cat was sacred to Bastet, a protective mother goddess and the daughter of the sun god Re. Amulets provided the wearer with the goddess's protection. -
Egyptian Black Stone Kohl Vessel
Middle Kingdom, circa 1991-1665 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Squat in profile with integral discoid base, broad discoid rim to the mouth. 190 grams, 53 mm wide
Swiss collection, acquired in 1998.
Such vessels contained kohl, an eyepaint either green or black. Kohl was used as a cosmetic in daily life, mentioned in funerary texts as necessary make-up in the presentation of the deceased before Osiris, and served as a medical treatment for eye ailments. The small size of kohl jars and their tiny capacity indicate the preciousness and costliness of the contents.
