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_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat")
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_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat")
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LOT 0033
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.
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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Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of the Memnonium at Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
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. -
Egyptian Faience Beaded Mummy Mask
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A restrung beadwork panel of small glazed composition beads in various colours representing a mummy face mask with false beard. 29.7 grams, 12 cm wide
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
Bead masks like this were attached to the outside of a mummy's wrappings and often formed part of an elaborate beaded feature covering the entire body. -
Historic Collection of 615 Slides of Archaeological Objects From Egypt
1960s-1980s A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
Housed in five linen-covered boxes, covering the Ptolemaic Period, royal sculpture of the Eighteenth Dynasty, sarcophagi, masks, canopics, shabtis, mummies, other royal objects etc. 3.87 kg total, 26.5 x 16.5 x 6.5 cm each box
Property of archaeologist Stephanie Gee, N.W. London, UK, 1960s-1980s.
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