Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Shabti

In a striding pose with arms at the sides, sporting a black coloured tripartite wig surmounted by the god's distinctive headdress consisting of a lotus flower with two plumes on top; mounted on a display stand. 10.66 grams total, 50 mm including stand



Ex H Norri collection, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK, 1980s-1990s.

Standing erect with dorsal pillar and rectangular base, arms straight and one leg advancing; lion-head wearing atef crown and a uraeus; mounted on a custom-made stand. 50.8 grams total, 84 mm including stand



Ex early 20th century London, UK, collection.

Mahes was an Egyptian lion-headed deity linked to divine protection, royal authority, and retributive justice. Considered a son of the goddess Bastet—or, in some traditions, Sekhmet—he embodied the fierce, solar power of the sun god Re and served as a fierce protector of cosmic order. Mahes was especially venerated in the Delta region, notably at Leontopolis, where his leonine form highlighted his role as a guardian and destroyer of enemies. Iconographically, he is commonly depicted as a lion or, as here, a man with a lion’s head, wearing an atef- crown.

Seated figure of the goddess, wearing a vulture headdress from which the bird’s head projects, topped by a crown consisting of a low modius of rearing cobras, surmounted by cow horns and a central sun disk; a tight-fitting three-quarter-length dress; shown suckling the naked infant Horus, with a uraeus at his brow; the goddess’s feet rest on a plinth, of which two sides are inscribed with a dedication, only partially preserved: (May) Isis give life (to) Wennenefer [......] Ankh-hor-(en)-sa (Ꜣst rdı͗ Ꜥnḫ wn n nfr [……] ꜥnḫ ḥr (n) sꜢ (?)). 875 grams, 22.1 cm including stand



From the estate of Alexander Dobkin (1908-1975), New York, USA, acquired prior to 1975. Thence by descent to his daughter, Katherine Dobkin, New York, USA.

Isis, one of the principal goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon, was revered as divine mother, protector of kingship, and mistress of magic. As the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, she embodied maternal care, resurrection, and cosmic order, playing a central role in myths of death and renewal. Isis lactans statuettes emphasise this intimate maternal relationship and its protective and regenerative power; such bronzes were widely dedicated in temples and domestic shrines as votive objects invoking divine protection, healing, and royal legitimacy. The lacuna in the inscription on this example most likely supplied the filiation between the two named individuals.