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LOT 0456
Egyptian Carnelian Cat Amulet
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C. OR LATER
1/2 in. (1.82 grams, 16 mm).
Amuletic pendant of the cat goddess Bastet, sitting on a rectangular base, suspension loop behind the shoulders. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s.
Property of a Staffordshire lady collector.
Ex Quercus of Quonians, Lichfield, UK, 2018.
Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
Private collection, London.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, pp. 32-33, for discussion, and figs. 28f, 29d for examples of small cat amulets in stone and faience.
FootnotesThe 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 depicted with a cat's head. She is sometimes shown with kittens, emphasising her maternal role as a fierce protector of offspring.
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AUCTIONS:
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Restrung group of tubular beads with cylindrical and small disc-shaped bead spacers. 4.97 grams, 62 cm
From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
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Gently trapezoidal plinth with the finely detailed figure of a crocodile on top. 17.8 grams, 46 mm
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Lead-Glazed Ribbed Glass Amphora
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Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
