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LOT 0463
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 5TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 - 2 3/4 in. (10 grams total including package, 34-71 mm).
Comprising: fragment of an orbiculus in brown and yellow coarse linen and wool, S torsion, embroidered with a running animal (lion?); fragment of a tablion with representations of fishes, white and green wool on linen. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Antinoe, Cent’anni dopo, catalogo della mostra, Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, 10 Luglio – 1 novembre 1998, p.87, for similar textiles.
FootnotesParticularly interesting is the presence of fish, which are part of depictions of marine life, in keeping with the classical Graeco-Roman tradition. Stylistically, Hellenistic naturalism is evident in these compositions in the rounded shapes of fish and marine animals, which create an effect of movement.
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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Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of the Hypogees Papyrus Manuscript from Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 63 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. 3eme partie. 272 grams, 103.5 x 69 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 scene depicts the Fields of Iaru, a verdant paradise in the ancient Egyptian afterlife, where the deceased could enjoy abundant harvests. -
Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
The head of goddess Bastet modelled in the round with alert ears and eyes, ears pierced; hollow-formed. 40.4 grams, 33.6 mm high
Acquired in the mid 1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
The feline's pierced ears likely once held earrings or other ornaments. It was probably attached to a statuette of a cat, whose body may have been crafted from wood. The 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 shown with a cat's head. She is sometimes portrayed with kittens, emphasising her maternal role as a fierce protector of her offspring. -
Egyptian Bead Collection
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Textile fragment with annular beads of varying colours. 19 grams total, beads: 2 mm
with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.