Loading, please wait...
LOT 0002
Egyptian Bifacial Magical Stela with Bes
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 280-180 B.C
4 1/2 in. (450 grams total, 11.6 cm high including stand).
Upper portion of an arch-top limestone stele fragment with two dressed faces; the obverse lunette features a winged sun disc flanked by uraei and two partial rows of incised pseudo-hieroglyphs below; the reverse displays the head of the god Bes in high relief, with traces of the head of the young Horus immediately below, who would have been depicted grasping the two partially preserved snakes and a scorpion carved in raised relief to the right; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceFrossart Collection, France, by the 19th century.
Private collection, London, UK.
Cf. Sternberg-El Hotabi, H., Untersuchungen zur Überlieferungsgeschichte der Horusstelen (2 parts), Ägyptologische Abhandlungen 62, Wiesbaden, 1999, part 2, pp. 25, 139, pl. XVIII, for a similarly arranged cippus, now in Edinburgh (inv. no. A.1955.179).
FootnotesAlthough fragmentary, this stela is easily recognisable as a Horus cippus or magical stela. They were used to heal ailments caused by snake or scorpion venom. Ancient Egyptians believed that water poured over these cippi would turn into a healing liquid that the afflicted could drink or apply to their bodies.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0002
Egyptian Bifacial Magical Stela with Bes
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
-
Egyptian Mixed Faience Amulet Collection
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Comprising: a face bead; two rectangular wedjat-eye beads with black detailing; an amulet depicting the Deshret crown of Lower Egypt; two seated baboon amulets; an amulet of a standing figure, possibly Sekhmet; a scaraboid with a small raised head. 4.93 grams total, 10-20 mm
From a 20th century UK collection. -
Egyptian Faience Hieroglyphic Shabti
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 525-30 B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 3 | Current Bid: £55
Slender in profile with tripartite wig and incised tools in the crossed hands, net to the left shoulder; dorsal pillar with impressed hieroglyphic legend. 23.6 grams, 89 mm
Ex Alexander Crawford Collection. From the collection of David Donlan (1947-2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery.
Alexander Crawford Lamb (1843-1897) was a Scottish hotelier, art collector, antiquarian and collector of paintings, literary works, china, furniture, antiquities and other ephemera and memorabilia. His most notable literary achievement was the publication of a massive volume entitled Dundee: Its Quaint and Historic Buildings, 1895. -
Egyptian Bronze Statuette of the God Neferhotep
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Neferhotep depicted advancing on a rectangular base, holding in the left hand the was sceptre, topped with the stylised head of an animal linked to the god Seth, with the right arm held rigid by the side with a clenched fist; wearing a Pschent crown with uraeus above the brow, a short, pleated shendyt kilt, and a broad multi-strand collar; the head features a tightly curled wig, false beard, and lentoid wire rims around the eyes; mounted on a custom-made stand. 345 grams total, 17.3 cm high including stand
Private collection of Mrs Bogaert, formed in 1949, Ghent, near Brussels, Belgium. Ex private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13310-258230.
Neferhotep was explicitly recognised as a deity with a cult only from the Late Period, although it may have been understood earlier and later as the incarnation of the youthful divine king, since pharaohs from the 18th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic Period are sometimes depicted wearing the same wig. Neferhotep, whose name translates as 'the perfect one is at peace,' was considered to be the son of Hathor and was venerated at Hu (Diospolis Parva), as well as at Karnak, Dendera, and Behbeit el-Hagar. Provenanced statues of the god originate from the Memphite region.
