Egyptian Artefact Collection

Obverse with scarab carved in high-relief and wing-case recessed to accept inlays (now absent), flanked by a small female goddess wearing a tall headdress, almost certainly Nephthys, with her arms raised in supplication; column with text to her rear, covered in gold foil and perhaps to be read as 'May my name be victorious: protection..'; reverse with the upper body of a male figure facing right with both arms raised towards the remains of a recumbent Anubis on a plinth above the top of a fragmentary shield-shaped plaque with incised text beginning 'Osiris Lord of Eternity forever..'; mounted on a custom-made stand. 53 grams, 69 mm (157 grams total, 11.5 cm including stand)



Eric Pascoe (d. 2019), Calenick House, Truro, Cornwall. Lodge & Thomas, Truro, Antiques & Fine Art Two Day Auction-Including the Ron Clifford Collection of Dinky & Britain's Toys, 26-27 September 2019, no.684. Acquired by the present owner at the above sale. with Bonhams, London, 8 December 2022, no.265. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

This fragment from an elaborate pectoral may exemplify an innovative design characteristic of the Ramesside Period, during which iconographic and textual elements began to diverge from the more conventional styles of earlier pectorals. For a discussion of some of these novel pectorals, refer to Whelan, P., 'An Epithet-Laden Pectoral,' Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 46 (2023), pp.7-28.

A pale blue-green faience mummiform shabti, with arms crossed and holding a hoe in each hand, wearing a tripartite wig with a headband with ties hanging down at the back; a seed bag suspended below the wig; the outline of the eyes, eyebrows, hoes, and seed bag painted black; a central column of hieroglyphs on the front reading: wsı͗r šmꜤyt n ı͗mn ns-ḫns.w ‘The Osiris, chantress of Amun, Nes-Khonsu.’ 166 grams, 12.2 cm



Ex German private collection. Acquired from Galerie BB-Antiken & Asiatika with stock reference no.366/08. From the private collection of a Belgian collector. Ex TimesAncient, Bristol, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the Galerie BB-Antiken & Asiatika certificate dated 1 December 2008. Accompanied by a copy of a previous catalogue entry. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Nes-Khnosu (and the variant Nesy-Khonsu) were common names during the Third Intermediate Period. However, the combination of the name and title in the dedication on this shabti is less common. It is possible that this shabti comes from tomb 339 at Deir el-Medineh in Western Thebes. The tomb was discovered by Bernard Bruyère in 1929 (Rapports préliminaires Deir el Médineh, Cairo, 1930, p. 89, 92), from where blue faience shabtis bearing the same dedication were recovered. Traditionally, chantresses were female performers who acted as dancers and rhythmic musicians. Like Nes-Khnosu, many were associated with temples and played significant roles in religious festivals.

Figure of a leaping gazelle modelled in the half-round, two attachment loops to the reverse. 1 grams, 21 mm



From an early 20th century collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The ‘flying gallop’ pose of animal figures, including the ibex, in ancient Egyptian jewellery elements is considered to be of Aegean influence.