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LOT 0667
Egyptian Bronze Hippopotamus Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C. OR LATER
1 in. (20.5 grams, 26 mm).
Modelled in the round on a rectangular base with a dorsal loop.
ProvenanceEx mid 19th century London, UK, collection.
FootnotesMetal hippopotamus amulets are comparatively rare compared with faience and stone examples. A gold hippopotamus amulet of similar size was discovered in Tomb W 643 at Meroe, Sudan, and is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 23.380).
Egyptian art depicted the Nile hippopotamus in Old, Middle, and New Kingdom limestone reliefs, as well as in faience, stone, and metal statuettes. Egyptians both admired and feared them: powerful and unpredictable, hippos attack when threatened. Their fearsome reputation made them potent apotropaic amulets, giving the wearer power over evil and chaotic forces.
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LOT 0667
Egyptian Bronze Hippopotamus Amulet
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£300 (EUR 348; USD 405) +BP*
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Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Amulet of the God Khnum
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Bids: 6 | Current Bid: £55
Fragment with dorsal pillar and ram-headed deity, mounted on display stand. 13.72 grams total, 57 mm including stand
Acquired from S. Michael Greenford, circa June 1961, for 7 shillings and sixpence. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.91. -
Egyptian Green Stone Baboon Statuette
New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £825
Carved in the round as an amuletic baboon figure with a lunar crescent-and-disc headdress and a ribbed suspension loop behind the head. 6.21 grams, 33 mm
Private collection, acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13180-249315.
Amulets depicting the squatting baboon wearing the lunar headdress can represent either Thoth or Khonsu. -
Egyptian Steatite Scarab and Plaque Group
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Including scarab, scaraboid and other types with incised hieroglyphs and other symbols. 6.3 grams total, 9-14 mm
Ex 1990s collection.
