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LOT 0009
Egyptian Alabaster Kohl Jars
NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1550-1070 B.C.
1 1/2 - 2 1/4 in. (310 grams total, 43-61 mm high).
The larger with squat profile, slight flare to the foot, carinated shoulder and small rounded rim; the smaller with wide flat rim, round shoulder and body tapering to a flat base. [2]
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, the larger kohl jar is clearly visible on a 1976 family photo.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12197-220887.
Cf. Vandier d’Abbadie, J., Les objets de toilette égyptiens au Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1972, pp.79-81, nos.283 and 287, for a similar example of the smaller kohl jar; Guidotti, M.C., Vasi dall’epoca protodinastica al Nuovo Regno, Museo Egizio di Firenze, Rome, 1991, p. 178, no. 248, for a similar example of the larger vessel; for a museum comparable, cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 35.3.22a, b.
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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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0009
Egyptian Alabaster Kohl Jars
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Egypto-Phoenician Hardstone Scarab Group
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Comprising five scarabs: one with a djed pillar surrounded by nwb signs; one with a jackal-headed Anubis holding a staff before a figure, with the scales of Maat above; one with a seated baboon sporting a crescent and sun disc headdress facing a royal cartouche of Thutmose III men-kheper-Re; one with a standing bird and other hieroglyphs; the largest one with worn underside. 1.97 grams total, 14-26 mm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
The scarab, which represented the dung beetle, was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt for approximately two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period when it gradually fell out of favour. The popularity of scarabs extended beyond the borders of Egypt, and they were also distributed and produced in other regions, such as Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri, derived from the verb 'to come into existence', and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri, who was self-engendered. The ancient Egyptians mistakenly believed that the young beetle emerging from the dung ball was the result of an act of self-creation. -
Egyptian Bronze Figure of Osiris
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,980
Solid cast mummiform figure standing on an integral plinth; the god cloaked in a tight-fitting shroud, sporting the ostrich-plumed atef crown with uraeus, divine beard, and holding the characteristic crook and flail regalia; traces of gilding remain; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 811 grams total, 21 cm including stand
Private collection, 19th century, thence by descent. Private collection, Neuchâtel. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12195-222135.
Osiris is a deity who represents death and fertility and is commonly regarded as the quintessential god of rebirth. Though he was once a mortal ruler, as a deceased entity, his domain was the Underworld. Abydos was the primary centre of Osiris’s cult, where a renowned yearly celebration of the god was held. -
Egyptian Faience Bead and Amulet Group
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Comprising tubular and annular beads in blue, green and cream colours, the upper half of two Tawaret amulets, a fragmentary wedjat eye, the lower half of a seated figure, probably Isis, and a complete amulet of the god Shu. 22 grams total, 2-21 mm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
