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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 Steatite Bifacial Scaraboid with Face and Bull
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £90
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 Gold Bastet Seated Cat Amulet
Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 0.51 grams, 8 mm
Ex French collection, early 20th century.
The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye, which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet, and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts, she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru', which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis, and at Saqqara and Memphis. -
Egyptian Hardstone Necklace with Amulets
New Kingdom, 1550-1295 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Spherical, bicone, and tubular stone beads with a vessel, and two cornflower amulets, restrung with a modern clasp fitting. 17.45 grams, 42 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s-2000s.
