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LOT 0518
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/8 - 4 3/4 in. (36 grams total including package, 11.2-12.2 cm).
Comprising two large tablia in linen and wool, with one showing an image of a hare and the other one a lion; borders with geometric decorations. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Museo dell'Alto Medioevo, Roma, I materiali Copti, p.98, for similar textile.
FootnotesThe theme of rabbits or hares, in association with other characters and animals of the Dionysian thiasos (here a lion), in a hunting setting, has notable parallels. Such representations are linked to narratives of the Dionysian cycle.
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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Egyptian Bronze Cobra Mount
Late Period, 6th century B.C.Estimate: £700 - 900 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Cobra-shaped mount with head raised and hood expanded, two mounting studs to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand. 182 grams, 22 cm
Private Israeli collection. Ex Archaeological Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2015. Private European collection.
The mount quite possibly adorned the Atef crown of a statue of Osiris. -
Egyptian Steatite Scarab with Hieroglyphs
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Detailed carapace and legs, a leaping quadruped with other hieroglyphs on the underside; pierced longitudinally. 2.37 grams, 16 mm
Mrs Allinson to Mrs Foster, 1867 and thence by descent to the current owner, Stanley Crescent, London, UK. -
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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.
