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LOT 0024
Egyptian Diorite Bust of a Dignitary
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
7 7/8 in. (2.03 kg total, 20 cm high including stand).
Wearing a heavy wig over a rounded face with cosmetic lines and eyebrows in raised relief; vertical dorsal pillar with partial hieroglyphs to the reverse; some re-cutting, mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx Jean-Paul Bourgis collection, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, 1980.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12128-213629.
Cf. Bothmer, B. V., Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period, 700 B.C. to A.D. 100, New York, 1960, pls.45, no.111, and 55, no.136.
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 Gold Frog Amulet
Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, 1070-900 B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
In naturalistic crouching pose on an oval base; underside with incised hieroglyphs, possibly a falcon with sun disc behind atop a neb sign, writing 'Lord Ra-Horakhty'. 0.54 grams, 6 mm
From an early 20th century French collection. -
Egyptian Gold Goddess Bastet Cat Amulet
Late New Kingdom, 1070-900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 0.52 grams, 8 mm
From an early 20th century French collection.
The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru' which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis and at Saqqara and Memphis. -
Egyptian Hardstone Scarab Group
New Kingdom, 1550-1069 B.CSold for (Inc. bp): £104
Comprising: one agate with ribbed carapace, leg detailing to underside; one steatite with two figures to the underside; with old dealer's notes. 3.77 grams total, 15-23 mm
Ex Chapman collection, UK, 1990s. Accompanied by two previous handwritten catalogue information slips.
