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LOT 0024
Egyptian Alabaster Mirror Handle
NEW KINGDOM, 18TH-20TH DYNASTY, 1550-1070 B.C.
5 3/4 in. (482 grams total, 14.5 cm including stand).
In the form of a papyrus column, the upper platform pierced through for insertion of a bronze mirror, incised with lotus petals at the top of the shaft and at the base; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Nicholas Wright, London, UK, 1969.
Christie's, London, 14 April 2011, no.128.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12941-243535.
Cf. Petrie, W.M.F., Objects of Daily Use, Warminster, 1972, pl. XXVI, nos. 12 and 16, for similar papiriform examples.
FootnotesThe papyrus stalk was used in the hieroglyphic script for the word 'wadj', meaning 'fresh', making it an appropriate talisman for the preservation of the body.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Limestone Relief with Pharaoh Making Offerings
Ptolemaic-Roman Period, circa 332 B.C.-300 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Rectangular relief showing the pharaoh wearing the pschent crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and presenting the hieroglyphic sign of a field (sḫt) in his outstretched palms towards the now barely discernible figure of a standing deity holding a long sceptre; an empty cartouche above and a column of worn hieroglyphic text below; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 18.4 kg total, 45.5 cm including stand
Acquired 1970s-1996. Private collection, Switzerland. with a North American collector. London collection, 2016. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12943-244661.
Scenes showing the pharaoh offering various items, including fields, to one or more deities are found in temples across Egypt. The empty cartouche is a feature most often seen in inscriptions from Ptolemaic and Roman-period temples, reflecting uncertainty over the holder of power in the country. -
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £700 - 900 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Ovoid jar with a rounded base, concave shoulders and flared neck; remains of lug handles, restored. 332 grams, 14 cm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Egyptian Bronze Harpokrates Pendant
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Modelled seated with his arms by his sides, wearing a sidelock of youth and the remains of an elaborate hem-hem crown; partial suspension loop behind the headdress. 20.7 grams, 72 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
Harpocrates is the Greek version of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which means ‘Horus the Child’. This name refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. Wearing an amulet of Harpocrates was believed to provide the same protection that Isis offered to her beloved son.