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_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat")
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LOT 0030
Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (40.4 grams, 33.6 mm high).
The head of goddess Bastet modelled in the round with alert ears and eyes, ears pierced; hollow-formed.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Roeder, G., Ägyptische Bronzefiguren II, Berlin, 1956, pl. 50 l and m, for comparable cat heads; Waziry, M., Vestiges of Ancient Egypt: The Bubasteion Votive Cachette at Saqqara, Houston, 2023, p. 68, fig. 19, for an example of a bronze cat head attached to carved wooden body, discovered at the cult centre of Bastet at Saqqara.
FootnotesThe feline's pierced ears likely once held earrings or other ornaments. It was probably attached to a statuette of a cat, whose body may have been crafted from wood.
The cat was sacred to Bastet, a protective mother goddess and the daughter of the sun god Re. Amulets provided the wearer with the goddess's protection. Her name means ‘she of the bast [ointment jar],’ which may have contained a substance favoured by or exclusive to royalty. Originally, Bastet was depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, but by the late New Kingdom, she was typically shown with a cat's head. She is sometimes portrayed with kittens, emphasising her maternal role as a fierce protector of her offspring.
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LOT 0030
Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Green Glazed Faience Amulet of a Seated Sphinx
Kushite Kingdom, 25th Dynasty, circa 747-656 B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Figure of a sphinx in seated pose on a tongue-shaped base, with loop between the shoulders and Nubian hairstyle. 17.48 grams total, 51 mm including stand
with Charles Ede Ltd, London, UK. Private collection, London, UK, acquired from the above on 28 April 1994. Accompanied by a copy of the Charles Ede invoice. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The 'Nubian' hairstyle was worn by young women in connection with birth, nursing babies and applying cosmetics. -
Egyptian Limestone Floral Inlay Group
Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £59
Group of discoid inlay plaques or gaming counters, crinoids with cinquefoil motif; some fragmentary. 49 grams total, 6-17 mm
From a central London ADA dealership, 1980-1990. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Flowers were symbolic of rebirth due to the daily reopening of their petals after nightfall. As a result, they were widely used in domestic settings, religious and funerary contexts, and as adornments. Similar rosette discs, like those recovered from the Ramesside Period palace at Qantir, were used as decorative elements in royal palaces. -
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Coptic Marble Liturgical Vessel Fragment with Inscription
6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £900
Tongue-shaped with low rounded pad on the underside, raised edge with low-relief decoration of grape vines and leaves, the edge with pairs of opposing doves eating grapes; dedicatory Demotic inscription on the underside. 87 grams, 55 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12575-232108. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
These vessels were used as liturgical objects for church offerings or ritual cult and were extensively employed from late antiquity in ecclesiastical contexts.
