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LOT 0485
Egyptian Faience Amulet of an Ibis
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (3.54 grams, 31 mm).
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.
Provenancewith Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 3 October 2000, no.413.
Private collection, Europe.
Cf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, p.25 no. 21f, for a similar example.
FootnotesThe 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0485
Egyptian Faience Amulet of an Ibis
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience Necklace with Pendant
1400-1100 B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £333
Alternating white and turquoise tubular beads with oval spacer bead; a collar terminal as a central pendant with two rows of petal-shaped beads incorporating tubular and ring spacers suspended below. 41 grams, 76 cm long
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Egyptian Faience Beaded Sons of Horus Panel
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Openwork restrung panel depicting Imsety, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef, the Four Sons of Horus with a winged scarab above; restrung. 21.4 grams, 12 cm
Ex Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1990s. From a London, UK, collection.
Winged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and believed to symbolise the deceased's rebirth and regeneration. The Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the deceased's internal organs. Here, on the left, is the erect-eared jackal-headed Duamutef, who protects the stomach. Next is the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who protects the intestines. Then comes the human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver, and finally, the baboon-headed Hapy on the right, protector of the lungs. -
Egyptian Painted Limestone Shabti for Abet-iyiry
Late New Kingdom, circa 1100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
With remains of pigment to the tripartite wig, face and eyes; vertical band of hieroglyphic inscription in black on the front giving dedication: 'sḥḏ wsir Ꜣbt-iyiry(?) mꜢʾ ḫrw' ‘The illuminated, the Osiris, Abet-iyiry(?), true of voice’; with remains of red borders and red detailing to the back. 162 grams, 13.3 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
