Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0419

Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment

CIRCA 7TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.

3 1/8 in. (10 grams total including package, 79 mm).

A fragment of a segmentum in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with a female head and a goose. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.

Literature

Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Museo dell'Alto Medioevo, Roma, I materiali Copti, pp.204-205, for similar textiles.

Footnotes

This is possibly a fragment from a tunic decoration, usually forming a part of bands 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.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 0419

Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment

Sold for (Inc. bp): £72

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Egyptian Bronze Figure of a Shrew
    Egyptian Bronze Figure of a Shrew
    Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £715

    Modelled in the round in a crouching pose on a rectangular base with an attachment peg. 145 grams, 73 mm



    From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

    This figure most likely comes from a shrew coffin or votive statuette. The dwarf shrew (Crocidura nana) and Flower’s shrew (Crocidura floweri) were among many animal species buried in dedicated cemeteries across various parts of Egypt. Ironically, these tiny creatures symbolised Horus in his raptor-headed form — a figure who, in reality, would have preyed upon them. Shrews were associated with Khenty-irty, the “seeing-and-blind god,” due to their ability to navigate darkness. It may be possible to read the shrew’s symbolism as that of seeking light in darkness, representing the Egyptian belief in the deceased’s journey through the hours of the night before rebirth at dawn. Radiographic analysis of a bundle containing about twenty-one shrews shows that they were dried whole, with no evisceration, preserved by being ‘pickled’ in natron.

    Lot Details

  • Egyptian Glazed Faience Bead and Amulet Collection
    Egyptian Glazed Faience Bead and Amulet Collection
    New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £143

    Comprising various glazed amulets and beads, including grape bunch, lotus flower, and other types. 8.3 grams total, 2-19 mm



    Ex Norri collection, Milton Keynes, UK, 1980s-1990s.

    Lot Details

  • Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
    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.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list