Egyptian Bronze Cobra Mount

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 23 from Vol.II 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 Thèbes. Memnonium. Vue générale du tombeau d'Osymandyas et d'une partie de la plaine de Thèbes prise du ord-ouest. 226 grams, 105 x 69.5 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 "Memnonium" is the Greek name for the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, now known as the Ramesseum.

The scarab with lightly incised anatomical detailing, the underside with a central cartouche flanked by two rearing crowned uraei, a pair of falcons standing above the cartouche facing a smꜣ hieroglyph symbolising union (of the two lands, Upper and Lower Egypt); set into a later gold swivel ring. 4.34 grams, 26.44 mm overall, 15.68 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J 1/2, USA 5, Europe 9.32, Japan 9)



with Bonhams, London, UK, 21 October 1999, no.36. Private collection, Europe. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12370-226696.

Presented in a striding pose with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides; wearing his emblem, the lotus-flower headdress from which two plumes emerge, and a menat on each side; dorsal pillar with hieroglyphs, beginning with the incantation: "Words spoken by Nefertum, son of Sekhmet...." 42.8 grams, 11.6 cm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Nefertum is usually depicted as a young man wearing a headdress with a lotus flower or a crown featuring the flower. The god is often linked to beauty, healing, and the lotus flower, with his cult connected to the royal family and the cycle of rebirth. Nefertum’s imagery and symbolism associate him with themes of creation, renewal, and the sun; he symbolises the first sunlight and the pleasant scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, emerging from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water lily.