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LOT 0425
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment
CIRCA 7TH CENTURY A.D.
12 1/8 in. (103 grams total including package, 31 cm).
Large fragment of tapestry, comprising two segmenta, in red granate wool and coarse linen, on green wool background, S-Z torsion, embroidered with stylised birds, palmettes and other vegetal ornaments, the borders of both segmenta decorated with meanders. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Каковкин, А.Я. (Kakovkin, A.Ya.), Коптские ткани из фондов Эрмитажа.Каталог выставки (Coptic textiles from the Hermitage collection. Exhibition catalogue, in Russian), Leningrad, 1978, p.34, no.56, for a similar textile.
FootnotesThis fabric was probably part of a wall tapestry or of a large garment. In 7th century A.D., the stylisation was always more evident on the embroidery of the Coptic textiles, especially when the Arab conquest banned the imagery of the Graeco-Roman world. The decoration was mostly concentrated on geometric ornaments or images of stylised animals.
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Egyptian Bronze Osiris Statuette
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
A slender standing figure of Osiris in iconic mummiform appearance, wearing the tall conical Atef crown with its flanking ostrich plumes, and central uraeus, a long, internally detailed divine beard, and holding the crook (heka) and flail (nekhakha) regalia. 17.5 grams, 62 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment
Circa 7th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
A fragment of an orbiculus in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with an image of a putto with vine leaves around the head, surrounded by tondos ornamented with vegetal embroidery. 11 grams total including package, 78 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
This is a fragment from a tunic decoration, usually forming part of a double band on a red background, decorated with a series of motifs related to the Dionysian cult: usually depicting cherubs, fish, heads, palmettes, and figures of dancing puttoes within the orbiculi. The decorative motifs on these tunics were usually arranged vertically and horizontally. -
Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of Reliefs at Esna
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 79 from Vol .I 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 Esné (Latopolis) Zodiaque sculpté au plafond du portique. 187 grams, 105 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 Temple of Khnum at Esna in Upper Egypt has elements from the New Kingdom, but most of it dates to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. This elaborate zodiac dates to the reign of Ptolemy III.
