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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 Gold Necklace with Harpocrates Pendant
Roman Period, 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £7,500
Gold chain of double-looped links terminating in corrugated end elements, with hook-and-eye clasp; suspension ring embellished with applied granulation and a ribbed loop; hollow-formed sheet-gold pendant in the round depicting Harpocrates seated, his right forefinger raised to his mouth, wearing a finely detailed nemes headdress surmounted by a complex hemhem, crown incorporating multiple hedjet elements, flanking uraei, and ram's horns. 49.80 grams, 40.5 cm
Ex Elie Boustros collection, Lebanon. Private collection, acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13203-249297.
The fully three-dimensional modelling of the pendant aligns it with a group of high-quality Roman-period Egyptian goldwork characterised by pronounced plasticity and sculptural ambition. A pertinent comparison may be drawn with the gold diadem depicting Serapis from the Dush Treasure, discovered concealed within the wall of a Roman fort in the Baris Oasis (Reddé, M., Douch IV. Le trésor de Douch, DFIFAO 28, Cairo, 1992). That assemblage, plausibly associated with a nearby temple of Serapis and Isis, demonstrates a similarly bold treatment of divine imagery in precious metal. Comparable small-scale representations of Harpocrates in gold - often amuletic in function - are known from Roman Egypt, though examples combining such intricate crown iconography with fully rounded modelling remain relatively rare. The present piece therefore occupies an interesting position between personal adornment and cultic or apotropaic object, reflecting both Alexandrian iconographic synthesis and provincial workshop virtuosity. Harpocrates is the Greek version 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 provide the same protection that Isis offered to her beloved son. -
Egyptian Faience Fragment Group
Mostly Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Mixed group of fragments, including two from a shabti figure. 75 grams total, 26-53 mm
From the late collection of a Cornish couple, formed from the early 1990s. -
Egyptian Blue Faience Cat Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Sitting cat on a tongue-shaped base, suspension loop behind the shoulders. 0.65 grams, 16 mm
Ex London gentleman's collection, by descent 1980s.
