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LOT 0032
Egyptian Bust of Ptah
LATE PERIOD, 26TH-30TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-343 B.C.
8 3/4 in. (1.39 kg total, 22.3 cm high including stand).
A white limestone figure of the god Ptah with false beard, wearing an enveloping cloak and a broad wesekh-collar, holding the shaft of a was sceptre; serene, oval face with almond-shaped eyes and fleshy lips; remnants of dorsal pillar to reverse; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx private Belgium collection, 1960s.
with Vanderkindere Auctions, Brussels, Belgium, 26 February 2013, lot 261.
English private collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11605-199743.
Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Cf. The Walters Museum, accession number 54.1017, for a similar figure in bronze created within this time period.
FootnotesPtah is attested from the beginning of ancient Egypt’s dynastic history and was a creator god, a god of craftsmen, and the patron deity of the Memphite region. The principal temple of the god was located in the city of Memphis.
The fragmentary back pillar on this statuette indicates that it was most probably a temple offering, originally inscribed with an invocation to Ptah together with the donor’s name. Such votive figurines with back pillars naming the god and the dedicator occur in various materials, including faience and stone.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Beaded Mummy Face Mask with Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Estimate: £350 - 450 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £194
A restrung panel of small glazed composition beads in various colours representing a mummy face mask with false beard and geometric border, scarab with wings extended below and the four sons of Horus in two pairs facing at the base. 75 grams, 22.5 cm high
Fine condition.
Acquired 1990s. Ex Mariaud des Serres, Paris, France. -
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Egyptian Carnelian Scarab
New Kingdom-Late Period, 1550-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,858
A finely carved carnelian scarab (Scarabaeus sacer) modelled naturalistically in the round with anatomical detailing to the carapace, head, legs and underside of the body; slightly domed profile; drilled laterally to the underside of the body for suspension. 3.07 grams, 19 mm
Fine condition.
From an early 20th century Home Counties collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.114474-196152.
The Egyptians saw the scarab as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. The beetle was associated with the sun god because scarabs roll large balls of dung in which to lay their eggs, a behavior that the Egyptians thought resembled the progression of the sun through the sky from east to west. Scarab amulets were used for their magical rejuvenating properties by both the living and the dead. The regenerative powers of scarabs such as the one offered here could be used by either the living or the dead for healing and protection. The striking red/orange colour of the carnelian stone used to produce this amulet strengthens its solar associations. -
Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Amulet Collection
New Kingdom-Late Period, circa 1315-380 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
A trio of blue-glazed composition amulets: the god Bes modelled stooping and wearing plumed crown, pierced for suspension; a seated cat on an arch-shaped base, suspension loop to reverse; a frog scaraboid with stylised facial and body detailing, hieroglyphs engraved to oblong base naming Amun-Re, pierced for suspension. 5.93 grams total, 17-26 mm
From an old UK collection. From the private collection of Alf Baxendale (1941-2016) part 2, keen Egyptologist, member of the Egyptology Society, trustee of the Amarna Trust; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of his obituary published in Horizon, The Amarna Project and Amarna Trust newsletter, Issue 18, 2017, p.21, by Barry John Kemp, CBE, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and directing excavations at Amarna in Egypt.
