Egyptian Alabaster and Glass Eye Pair

LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.

1 1/4 in. (15.33 grams, 31mm).

The sclera white alabaster stone and the iris black glass.

Provenance

From a North American gentleman's collection, 1990s.

Footnotes

Egyptian coffin eye inlays were both decorative and symbolic, intended to make the coffin appear lifelike and assist the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, they featured a white sclera (glass, travertine, alabaster or quartz), a dark iris (glass or often obsidian), and sometimes red paint at the inner corner. The eyes were often set in bronze or copper frames, occasionally with faience or bronze eyebrows.

CONDITION

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LOT 0006