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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 Kaire
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 61 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 Le Kaire. Vue générale de la ville des tombeaux. 259 grams, 104 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 the underground chambers (hypogea). The original papyrus is now held in the Bibliothèque Nationale (1-19), Paris (Papyrus Cadet). -
Egyptian Steatite Scaraboid with Face
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Modelled as a domed face of Hathor with small cow-ears and a wig with coiled lappet ends, and an advancing cow on the underside. 10.18 grams, 32 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Faience Bead Broad Collar Necklace
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Comprising: band of vertically strung faience tubular beads with integral tie at each end; below, a fringe of vertically strung groups of eight similar beads on a loop of thread with annular beads at the junction with the band and more similar at the outer end of the fringe; ancient cord. 50 grams, 33.5 cm
Ex William Ohly, 1883-1955. Ex Abbey Museum, Barnet, by descent.
