Egyptian Faience Amulet Collection

Modelled resting on a rectangular base, with fur-texture detailing and hieroglyph to the underside. 2.01 grams, 17.59 mm



From an old Suffolk, UK, collection. Acquired in the UK before 1980. From the personal collection of Derek Rogers, Suffolk, UK.

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 New Kingdom, she was typically depicted with a cat's head. She is sometimes shown with kittens, emphasising her maternal role as a fierce protector of offspring.

Modelled in the round with tall conical cap, pinched face, flat discoid upper body and single-piece legs, ovoid foot; lightly punched eyes, navel and nipples, horseshoe punch-detailing to edges; mounted on a display stand. 56 grams total, 10.3 cm including stand



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

This figurine bears a resemblance to other simply crafted figurines found in temple deposits at Byblos and other Phoenician sites. The tall conical cap seen on many of these figurines is reminiscent of the hedjet Egyptian crown, underscoring the robust cultural and commercial ties between the Levant and Egypt.

An exquisitely modelled figure of a seated ibis on a trapezoidal-shaped plinth, with its beak resting on the slender feather of Maat; light turquoise glaze for the body, plinth, and feather; blue glaze for the tail feathers, feet and neck; head missing. 3.54 grams, 31 mm



with Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 3 October 2000, no.413. Private collection, Europe.

The ibis was considered sacred to the god Thoth. It is likely that the popularity of amulets depicting an ibis resting its beak on the feather of Maat in the funerary sphere is connected to Thoth's role as the recorder of the final judgment of the deceased by the divine tribunal. This tribunal determined if the deceased had lived a virtuous life and could enter the Underworld. This was visually represented by the deceased's heart placed on scales with the feather of Maat; if the heart and feather balanced, eternity was assured.