Egyptian Bronze Statuette of Osiris

Carved stone wedjat amulet with incised detailing to the brow, applied black pupil. 0.83 grams, 14.69 mm



with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.

Comprising: a fragment of a segmentum in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with a series of heads alternating with a flying putto holding a melograne; a fragment of another segmentum in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with vegetal patterns, borders decorated with meanders; a fragment of a segmentum in linen and red, brown, white, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with floral buds; a small fragment of a tablion with geometric decoration, purple wool on linen. 44 grams total including package, 4.3-20.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

Some of these pieces are fragments from a tunic decoration, usually belonging to bands on red background, decorated with a series of motifs related to the Dionysian cult: usually these depict cherubs, fish, heads, palmettes, vegetal and floral ornaments, as well as figures of dancing puttoes within the orbiculi. The decorative motifs on these tunics were usually arranged vertically and horizontally.

Figure of Bastet as a cat with pointed ears, seated on a rectangular base with a rounded end; suspension loop on the back, ear repaired. 2.51 grams, 26 mm



Ex London gallery and Belinda Elliston, a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, 1940s onwards.

In ancient Egypt, the cat was venerated as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose principal cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk practice, their veneration as part of formal cults spread across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely linked to lion-headed goddesses like Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became associated with solar imagery: the Book of the Dead portrays the sun god as a Great Cat vanquishing Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also embody the Eye of the Sun or, more often in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were frequently dedicated as votive offerings, and some of their feline-shaped coffins were adorned with finely crafted bronze heads to enhance their divine likeness.