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LOT 0568
Egyptian Blue Faience Bastet Cat Amulet
NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1550-1070 B.C.
1 in. (3.25 grams, 28 mm).
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back.
ProvenanceEx London gallery and Belinda Elliston, a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, 1940s onwards.
LiteratureCf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, item 29(c).
FootnotesIn ancient Egypt, the cat was venerated as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose principal cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk practice, their veneration as part of formal cults spread across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely linked to lion-headed goddesses like Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became associated with solar imagery: the Book of the Dead portrays the sun god as a Great Cat vanquishing Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also embody the Eye of the Sun or, more often in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were frequently dedicated as votive offerings, and some of their feline-shaped coffins were adorned with finely crafted bronze heads to enhance their divine likeness.
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Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of the Hypogees Papyrus Manuscript from Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 67 from Vol.II of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Thèbes. Hypogées. Manuscrit sur papyrus. 233 grams, 110 x 67 cm
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The papyrus manuscript was recovered from an underground tomb chamber (hypogeum). The vignette in this scene depicts the weighing of the deceased's heart on scales before Osiris's tribunal. If the heart (on the left) did not balance with Maat (on the right), it would be devoured by Ammut, the fearsome creature seated on a shrine before Osiris. -
Egyptian Terracotta Oil Lamp
Ptolemaic Period, circa 200-50 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Rounded body with large filler hole and pointed lug on the shoulder, the rim with a low-relief ovolo decoration, elongated nozzle with scooped nozzle; low basal ring. 63 grams, 88 mm
From a private Wiltshire, UK, collector, acquired before 1980. -
Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of Reliefs at the Grand Temple of Edfu
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 58 from Vol .I of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Edfou (Apollinopolis magna) Frises sculptées dans l'intérieur du portique du grand Temple, Autres sculptures du portique. 258 grams, 105.5 x 68.5 cm
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The Temple of Horus at Edfu in Upper Egypt is one of the best preserved in the country, and its walls feature significant religious and mythological scenes.
