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LOT 0018
Egyptian 'Becker' Serpentine Vessel
NEW KINGDOM, 18TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1450 B.C.
6 1/8 in. (1.2 kg, 15.5 cm).
Piriform jar with wide, flat rim and short neck, narrow neck and flat base.
ProvenanceEx Becker collection, 1920s.
Private collection, Los Angeles, USA, 1990s.
Private European collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12576-232111.
See Aston, B.G., Ancient Egyptian Stone Vessels, materials and forms, Heidelberg, 1994, pl.12, for examples of serpentine vessels; for the shape of the vessel, idem, p.97, no.185, type a (p.154, New Kingdom); Lilyquist, C., Egyptian Stone Vessels, Khian through Tuthmosis IV, New York, 1995, figs.67, 68, 85, 87.
FootnotesThree forms of serpentine were mainly used by the ancient Egyptians for stone vessels: a) green or grey serpentine with black veins; b) translucent green serpentine with black patches; c) granular black serpentine with intermixed grey or brown granules. Type a) serpentine, i.e. the green or grey one with black veins, has the longer time range, and was used for vessels from the Predynastic Period (Naqada II) through the New Kingdom. It was used for stone vessels, but also became common for statuettes and small toilet vessels. The class of green glazed kohl pots, many with carved or openwork decoration which are usually called ‘glazed steatite’ were more likely to be made of serpentine. The type here represented is a form known in the New Kingdom: a bag-shaped jar with neck, flat base, and wide thin rim. Similar vessels have been found in Thebes, Amarna, Kahun, among other localities.
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LOT 0018
Egyptian 'Becker' Serpentine Vessel
Estimate £2,500 - 3,500€2,900 - 4,060 (for guidance only)$3,380 - 4,730 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Funerary Linen Fragment with Hieratic Text from the Book of the Dead for Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet
Graeco-Roman Period, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Bearing a portion of Chapter 17, a spell written in late hieratic script executed in black ink on woven linen, consistent with funerary bandages of the Graeco-Roman period; the inscription identifies the owner as a woman named Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet, with her mother named Iset-(m-)khebit; as is typical for funerary manuscripts of this period, the father’s name is not recorded. 5.08 grams, 22 cm wide
Found inside an 18th-century Bible and believed to be a souvenir acquired in the 19th century. From the private collection of a North American lady. An academically identified and unpublished fragment, offering potential for further scholarly study and publication. Accompanied by a report in progress dated 28 April 2026 by Holly Lund.
Spell 17 is among the most important and widely transmitted compositions in the Book of the Dead, concerned with cosmology, divine knowledge, and the transformation of the deceased in the afterlife. Even in fragmentary form, such texts provide valuable insight into funerary belief and scribal practice during the later phases of ancient Egyptian religion. This description was prepared using information provided by Dr Ann-Katrin Gill, Academic Assistant at the Egyptological Institute, University of Leipzig, and a separate assessment by Steve Vinson, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. The linen fragment may derive from a nineteenth-century mummy unwrapping, a practise widely attested in this period. -
Egyptian Steatite Scarab with Cartouche
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With detailing to the carapace, mouth and legs, underside with cartouche, ankh and other symbols. 2.98 grams, 18 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Pectoral
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Large rectangular shrine-shaped pectoral with subtle cavetto cornice top; obverse with black-painted Anubis reclining on a low pedestal, the reverse with two stylised tyet flanking a djed pillar; four piercings through the rear edge. 20 grams, 45 mm
From a 20th century UK collection.
