Egyptian Clay Papyrus Document Sealing with Bust of Hadrian

Mummiform figure wearing a lappet wig, with arms crossed and holding a pick and hoe outlined in black; the wig, facial features, necklace, and seed bag painted black; hieroglyphic text to lower body: sḥḏ wsỉr "The illuminated, the Osiris". 87 grams, 11.3 cm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

The shabti was a stock product included with an opening dedication, awaiting the addition of the prospective purchaser's name. However, many examples of shabtis with only partial dedications are known to have been buried with the deceased.

D-shaped in section with tripartite wig and arms crossed at the chest. 6.6 grams, 60 mm



Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 60 from Vol.II of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Thèbes. Hypogées. Manuscrit sur papyrus. 226 grams, 103.5 x 70 cm



From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The papyrus manuscript was recovered from an underground tomb chamber (hypogeum). The text is written in hieratic, a cursive form of hieroglyphic script often used for religious papyrus documents. The main scene shows the judgment of the dead before a tribunal led by the god Osiris. The scales compare the deceased's heart against the feather of Maat. If they balance, the deceased gains entry into the eternal afterlife; if not, the fearsome Ammut creature devours the heart, and the deceased ceases to exist.