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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 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 Faience Beaded Mummy Mask with Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £358
Restrung netted beadwork panel of annular and tubular glazed composition beads in blues, greens, black, cream and red-brown colours, depicting a mummy face-mask with false beard, a scarab with extended wings below, the 'Four Sons of Horus’ beneath the scarab, joined together with areas of open netting of tubular beads; restrung with some later beads. 72 grams, 26 cm
Ex Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1990s. From a London, UK, collection.
The Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the internal organs of the deceased. Here, on the left, we can see the jackal-headed Duamutef, who protected the stomach, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, protector of the intestines, then the human-headed Imsety, who protected the liver and, finally, the baboon-headed Hapy, protected the lungs, on the right. -
Large Egyptian Translucent Carnelian Heart Amulet
New Kingdom, circa 1550-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
Carved with lateral triangular lugs and ribbed bale. 4.6 grams, 24 mm
From an early 20th century collection.
According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the heart (ib) was considered to be the centre of intelligence, emotions, and behaviour. The heart was also believed to store an individual's memories. During the Weighing of the Heart ceremony in the afterlife, the heart could speak up for the deceased and account for their lifetime of actions before Osiris. For this reason, heart amulets were placed on the mummy to safeguard the organ and ensure a favourable outcome during judgment.
