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LOT 0005
Egyptian Bronze Per-Medjed Oxyrhynchus Fish
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
4 1/8 in. (271 grams, 10.6 cm).
The fish displayed atop a shrine on a hollow rectangular base; attached by ventral and pectoral fins, remains of forked tail; dorsal ridge; tapering nose; recessed circular eyes; horned sun disc headdress with coiled cobra to base; figure of a worshipping priest kneeling beneath.
ProvenanceAcquired in Europe before 1990.
Private collection, Europe.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11833-206796.
Cf. The British Museum, museum number EA65682, for a comparable example; Tiribilli, E., The bronze figurines of the Petrie Museum from 2000 BC to AD 400, London, 2018, p.229, for discussion.
FootnotesPer-Medjed is the ancient Egyptian name of the main cult centre of this type of fish (Mormyrus kannume). The Greeks called the cult centre Oxyrhynchus Polis (meaning 'Town of the sharp-snouted fish'). In ancient Egyptian religion, these sacred fish were believed to have consumed the penis of the god Osiris after his brother Set had dismembered and scattered his body. Statuettes such as this are associated with Isis and Hathor.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0005
Egyptian Bronze Per-Medjed Oxyrhynchus Fish
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Coptic-Fatimid Mounted Textile with Dancers
Circa 12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
The woven textile fragment of linen and wool with a large horizontal decorative band depicting octagonal rosettes inscribed in rhomboids; the rosettes divided by stylised columns decorated with foliage elements; the band edged by two lateral segments formed of octagonal rosettes enclosing flowers, bordered with scalloped geometries; at the bottom four stylised dancers. 285 grams, 60 x 35.5 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
It is the lower part of a cloak from the Fatimid era. The end of the Coptic period was characterised by a treatment of eight-lobed rosettes, a current motif in Muslim art. The four dancers are made as simple signs. -
Egyptian Wooden Diorama with Model Makers
11th-12th Dynasty, 2023-1862 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
Rectangular wooden base supporting two opposed crouching figures each holding a tool (axe, chisel) in one hand, working on a model boat; the figures wearing white linen kilts and with carefully painted hair and facial features. 436 grams, 18 cm
Acquired in the 1960s. From the collection of the late Egyptologist Surgeon Commander PHK Gray RN. From a Surrey, UK, collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11832-207092.
Crafted for the tomb to accompany the deceased and provide for him in the afterlife. -
Egyptian Mounted Coptic Textile
Circa 5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Comprising a double band of purple wool over linen, the ornament consisting of a series of circles alternating with a star-shaped and rhomboid decoration. 152 grams, 42.5 x 34 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The large segments can be classified as clavi, although they are not part of a tunic but more possibly borders of a curtain, or a funerary sheet. Mantles and funerary shrouds were usually decorated by wide bands along the lower border, imitating the ornaments of tunics with clavi and orbiculi.
