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LOT 0066
Egyptian Blue Glass Mummy Eye Pair
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
2 1/4 in. (44.35 grams total including stand, 56 mm each).
Composed of overpainted white sclerae with obsidian irises, set into contoured blue glass lids with extending cosmetic lines; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceProperty of a North American gentleman, London, UK, 1990-2010.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13254-252260.
For a similar blue glass eyeliner inlay see Goldstein, S.M., Pre-Roman and Early Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, no. 456, p.172.
FootnotesThe eyes would have been applied to a mummy case. They were carefully bevelled and ground to fit the original mummy case. They could also have been used for the mummy masks.
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:
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Egyptian Serpentine Shabti for King Senkamenisken
Nubia, Napatan Period, 643-623 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £21,450
Mummiform figure wearing a braided beard with chin-straps in relief, broad collar visible between the lappets of the nemes headdress adorned with a double uraeus, the crossed hands holding a hoe and pick, with a seed bag over the left shoulder, his broad face with straight nose, wide-set eyes and large ears, six horizontal lines of inscription, giving a version of Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 659 grams total, 21 cm including stand
J.J. Klejman, Madison Avenue, New York, USA, 1960s. UK private collection, acquired from the above, 1960s. Bluett and Sons, London, 1979. Sheppard & Cooper, UK, private collection, 1980s. Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani, the 'Princely' private collection, UK. Acquired from the above in 2017. with Sotheby's, London, 5 July 2024, no.126. Accompanied by a copy of the Bluett and Sons invoice, 22 January 1979. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13273-254064.
Of the 1277 shabtis of Senkamenisken found in the king's burial chamber of his pyramid tomb at Nuri (Pyramid 3), 410 are made of serpentine, the remaining 867 of faience. The inscription reads: 'The illuminated one, the Osiris, the good god, lord of the two lands, Sekheper[en]re, true of voice, He says: "O this shabti, if anyone summons the Osiris Senkamenisken, true of voice, in order to do any work which is to be done in the God's Land (i.e. necropolis), to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the canals, to carry sand from the east to the west and vice versa, 'Here I am', you shall say". -
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
Ovoid jar with a rounded base, concave shoulders and flared neck; remains of lug handles, restored. 332 grams, 14 cm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Egyptian Bronze Seated Harpocrates
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £428
Substantial cast figurine modelled in the round of Harpocrates sitting with hands on his thighs, double crown and sidelock. 389 grams, 16.2 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
Harpocrates is the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which means ‘Horus the Child’. This name refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. Wearing an amulet of Harpocrates was believed to give the wearer the same protection that Isis offered to her beloved son. Larger bronze statuettes probably served as votive offerings to Harpocrates to secure his favour and protection.
