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LOT 0007
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-332 B.C.
3 3/8 in. (174 grams, 87 mm high).
With small everted rim, the body of oval shape with two ear-shaped vestigial handles; rim chipped and base partly absent.
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.
Cf. Aston, B.G., Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels: Materials and Forms, SAGA 5, Heidelberg, 1994, p.166, no.227a, for a similar example of the type.
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 0007
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience Bead Scarab with Four Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Openwork beaded panel depicting a winged scarab with the Four Sons of Horus, Hapy, Imsety, Qebehsenuef, and Duamutef below; restrung. 22.3 grams, 11.4 cm
Ex Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1980-1990s. From a London, UK, collection.
Winged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and believed to symbolise the deceased's rebirth and regeneration. The Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the deceased's internal organs. Here, on the left, is the baboon-headed Hapy, protector of the lungs, then the human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who protects the intestines and, finally, the erect-eared jackal-headed Duamutef on the right, who protected the stomach. -
Egyptian Ovoid Alabaster Jar
Early Dynastic Period, circa 3100-2900 B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £389
With rounded lip, and oval body slightly tapering to a flat base. 517 grams, 11.5 cm high
Mary 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.
Mary 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. -
Egyptian Limestone 'Floral' Inlay Group
Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £26
Group of discoid inlay plaques or gaming counters, crinoids with cinquefoil motif. 35 grams total, 14-18 mm
From a central London ADA dealership, 1980-1990.
Flowers were symbolic of rebirth due to the daily reopening of their petals after nightfall. As a result, they were widely used in domestic settings, religious and funerary contexts, and as adornments. Similar rosette discs, like those recovered from the Ramesside Period palace at Qantir, were used as decorative elements in royal palaces.
