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LOT 0656
Egyptian Coptic Tunic Textile Fragment with Segmenta Decorated with Crosses
CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
12 in. (27 grams, 30.5 cm).
Comprising a long element from a tunic, possibly a sleeve from a child’s garment, in brown wool with a red edge, a pair of segmenta at both sides in purple and yellow, ornamented with crosses inside lozenges and spirals. [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.100-101, for similar textiles.
FootnotesThis decorative part of a tunic is possibly a part of the sleeve of a child's garment, and the crosses reiterate the fact that these fabrics were produced in a by then heavily Christianised Roman Empire.
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LOT 0656
Egyptian Coptic Tunic Textile Fragment with Segmenta Decorated with Crosses
Estimate £60 - 80€70 - 93 (for guidance only)$81 - 108 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Terracotta Funerary Cone of Qenamun
New Kingdom, mid-18th Dynasty, circa 1479-1425 B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Bids: 6 | Current Bid: £175
Complete cone, preserving its slender tapering form, with the flat circular end faintly impressed with four horizontal lines of abraded hieroglyphic text reading: 'An offering which the king gives to Osiris, lord of eternity, may he give a voice offering of all good purified things, for the ka of the scribe of documents of the god's wife, Qenamun, true of voice'. 450 grams, 21.4 cm
Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980, when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.
Qenamun's title indicates that he was responsible for the legal correspondence, decrees, and official documentation issued by or sent to the institution of the royal priestess of Amun. Although abraded, this cone is clearer in certain areas of the inscription than the one recorded by Davies and Macadam in their 1957 catalogue of funerary cones. Qenamun's tomb in the Theban necropolis has not yet been identified. -
Phoenician Marbled Grey Stone Scarab with Bird
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Plano-convex in section, with hatched segmentation on the upper face; underside with bird in flight, with radiating strokes to the border; edge chipped; supplied with an impression. 4.11 grams, 17 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Egyptian Heart Scarab Group
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £120 - 170 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £60
Comprising two naturalistically modelled scarabs with striated wing cases and ribbed undersides. 7.5 grams total, 18-20 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
The scarab amulet was a powerful symbol of rebirth, transformation, and protection in ancient Egypt. Modeled after the beetle associated with the sun god Khepri, it represented the cycle of life and regeneration. From the Middle Kingdom (c. 2050 BCE) onwards, scarabs served as funerary amulets, personal charms, and seals—often inscribed with prayers or names—reflecting both spiritual beliefs and daily life.
