Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0473
Egyptian Black Hardstone Sphinx
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 500-31 B.C.
2 in. (74 grams total, 50 mm long including base).
An Egyptian or Graeco-Roman hardstone female sphinx modelled in the round, sitting on a sub-rectangular base, her hair tied in a bun on the top of her head, circular socket to the top face behind the head; mounted on a custom-made antique wooden display base.
Provenance
From Saqqara in the late 1960s.
With John Cummings, Lincolnshire, UK, 1990s.
Acquired 20 May 1997.
Property of a South Oxfordshire private collector.
Accompanied by an original invoice no.6469 dated 20 May 1997.
Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Literature
Cf. a heavily worn steatite(?) winged sphinx, dated to 90-10 B.C., was found at Meroe and is now in The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, inv.no.22-1-609.
Footnotes
This type of sphinx amulet is quite rare in Egypt, for instance, the vast output and variety of amulets identified from the Late Period industrial-scale workshops at Naukratis does not include three-dimensional winged sphinxes, only their image impressed in scarabs, suggesting that this example may have been an import and/or once the possession of a Greek person in Egypt.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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.
RELATED LOTS
-
Egyptian Faience Bead Necklace
Late Period, 664-525 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
A restrung group of tubular faience beads with a modern clasp. 8.3 grams, 48 cm long
From an early 20th century UK collection. -
Egyptian Pale Blue Shabti for an Imy-Khent Priest
Late Period, 30th Dynasty, circa 380-343 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
A pale blue glazed mummiform shabti for an Imy-Khent priest, modelled standing on a rectangular base, arms crossed over the chest and holding a pick and a hoe, seed bag over the left shoulder, wearing a tripartite wig and false beard; two vertical columns of hieroglyphs to the front of the body, plain dorsal pillar; some of the hieroglyphs spelling the owner's name are poorly rendered, but appears to be Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky. 99 grams, 13.5 cm high
From a Worcester deceased estate. Property of a Cambridgeshire gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Although the name of the shabti’s owner and, in particular, that of his parent, are rather unclear, the titles are clearly written and inform us that Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky served as an ‘Imy-khent priest’ associated with the Delta city of Mendes, where the principal deity was the sacred ram god Ba-neb-djedet (meaning ‘Ram, lord of Djedet’). The hieroglyph of the standing ram (Ba) forms the first part of the priest’s name. From the Late Period onwards the priestly title of the nearby city of Hermopolis Parva, ‘One who Separates the Two Gods’, also appears in Mendesian title strings, perhaps indicating that Hermopolis Parva and its religious cults had come under the control of Mendes; indeed, Mendes is thought to have been the capital of Egypt during the 29th Dynasty. The crocodile god Sobek was also worshipped at Mendes in later periods and Ba-ankh-sa-sobeky’s name appears to reflect both this reptilian deity and the traditional ram god of the city. -
.jpg)
Egyptian Marble Eye Inlay
Late Period, 664-525 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A carved white marble eye inlay from a statue; unfinished. 24.4 grams, 58 mm
London, UK, art market, 1980s. From the collection of G.M.R.H., London, UK.
