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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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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Blue-Glazed Faience White Lotus Chalice
New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, 1315-945 B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
The lotiform cup modelled as an open lotus flower with incised petal detailing to the outer face, short stem and flared foot; some restoration. 205 grams, 12.1 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12937-243177.
Faience chalices shaped like the flowers of the white lotus (Nymphaea albicans) first appeared in the 18th Dynasty and are believed to be drinking vessels. -
Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of the Memnonium at Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 23 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. Memnonium. Vue générale du tombeau d'Osymandyas et d'une partie de la plaine de Thèbes prise du ord-ouest. 226 grams, 105 x 69.5 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 "Memnonium" is the Greek name for the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, now known as the Ramesseum. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £211
Comprising: a large fragment of a segmentum in white and red linen and wool, S torsion, borders embroidered with meanders, the central scene representing running hares; a purple on linen fragment of a clavus representing a dancer, borders with geometric decoration; and a large fragment of a tablion, ornamented with images of fishes, birds and vegetal patterns in red, green, yellow and dark blue wool, the central tondo missing. 66 grams total including package, 14.3-20.3 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Water plant elements are scattered across the bottom of the tablion, which is decorated with water birds; these decorations likely surrounded the image of a nereid. These abstract decorations show a strong stylisation often giving the marine animals a plant-like appearance.
