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LOT 0438
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/8 - 2 1/2 in. (9 grams total including package, 60-64 mm).
Comprising: an orbiculus in coarse linen and brown wool, S torsion, embroidered with the image of a stylised bird, surrounded by tondos ornamented with geometric embroidery, borders meander decorated; a similar fragment of double segmenta, embroidered with hares alternated to fishes. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Institut du monde arabe, L'art copte en Égypte: 2000 ans de Christianisme : exposition présentée à l'Institut du monde arabe, Paris, du 15 mai au 3 septembre 2000, Paris, 2000, p.191, no.211, for a similar textile image on papyrus.
FootnotesThe iconography of this fragment is called "Nilotic," as it depicts plant and human elements linked to life on the Nile River. These images are very recurrent on Coptic textiles. Weavers created patterns that allowed them to reproduce these motifs on any type of fabric (curtains, tassels, clothing).
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Rock Crystal Piriform Vessel
Old Kingdom, 5th-6th Dynasty, circa 2500-2200 B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Model amphora with trumpet-shaped mouth and piriform body; shallow socket above. 55 grams, 59 mm
with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.
This model vessel was probably linked to the "Opening of the Mouth" ritual, which revived the deceased. -
Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Bracelet with Winged Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £140
Restrung bracelet of annuar beads in the form of a scarab with extended wings. 8.3 grams, 22 cm including clasp
Ex Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1990s. -
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 66 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. 230 grams, 102 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 text is written in hieratic, a cursive form of hieroglyphs, often used for religious papyrus documents.
