Egyptian Faience Amulet and Fragment Group

Comprising: one olive-green with lobe base, one rich blue with black detailing, one with tripartite wig. 21 grams total, 45-63 mm



Ex Cummings collection, UK, 1990s.

An acephalic seated nude statuette of Horus-Harpocrates, legs held together and arms by his side, semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing; cleaned. 1.67 kg total, 22 cm high (26 cm high including stand)



Collection of Brugsch Pasha (1842-1930). with Hotel Drouot, Paris, 30 September 1997, no.643. Ex property of Mr Naudy. Property of a French collector.

Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, was considered a solar deity who overcame darkness and defeated the chaotic forces of his evil uncle, the god Seth. Egyptian pharaohs considered themselves to be reincarnations of Horus. In his youthful form, Horus the child embodies the new sun and all associated benefits. In Graeco-Roman Egypt he became Harpocrates, son of Serapis and Isis, the deity-symbol of rebirth and fertility, perhaps the most popular deity to be represented in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt.

With a tall, flaring cup rounded at the base, attached to a short stem supported on a flared foot; the outside of the cup decorated with petals modelled in relief and a ribbed rim; the stem and foot plain; some restoration. 126 grams, 16 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 no.12099-214088.

Faience chalices shaped like the flowers of the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) first appeared in the 18th Dynasty. The blue lotus chalices were believed to have been used for cultic or votive purposes in temples or in rituals offered to the dead. Known as 'Seshen' by the ancient Egyptians, the blue lotus was a symbol of solar concepts associated with rebirth, probably because its flowers opened in the morning and closed at night. Hence, it is not surprising to find that the lotus was prominently featured in ancient Egyptian funerary art, particularly in banqueting scenes honouring the deceased, and in bouquets that adorned the coffin and bier of the deceased. It is also believed that the flower petals were used to make perfume, and that the ancient Egyptians took advantage of the lotus's narcotic properties. The extracted essence was added to wine to enhance its pleasurable effects, as depicted in banqueting scenes with intoxicated guests.