Egyptian Faience Amulet with Thoth as Ibis and Maat

With falcon head, wearing a shendyt kilt and a tripartite striated wig, surmounted by two ostrich plumes and fronted by a sun disc and double uraei, wearing a collar and holding a staff with a falcon-headed terminal emerging from a papyrus umbrel; standing on an integral rectangular plinth with a single line of inscription that probably ran around all sides, of which a few hieroglyphs remain, the front reading: '..? Lord (of)' and the left side reading 'Thebes, (that) he may give life..', the last hieroglyph on the front side and the first three on the left give the familiar epithet of Montu, 'Lord of Thebes' which is followed by the request from the statue’s dedicator for Montu to bestow life (and perhaps other benefits) upon him/her; accompanied by a custom-made tiered display base. 553 grams, 22.7 cm high (639 grams total, 25.5 cm high including stand)



Japanese collection, prior to 1980. AAL Geneva, Switzerland, 1980. British collection since 1999. with Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 2 February 2017, no.78 (20,000-22,000 Euros). Accompanied by copies of the relevant Pierre Bergé & Associés catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12132-213615.

The statuette was most likely an offering made at one of Montu’s cult centres in the Theban region to ensure for the dedicator the good favour of the god. Commensurate with his warlike nature, Montu can sometimes be depicted holding a khepesh sickle-bladed sword, yet here he holds a rarer attribute: a carefully detailed staff with a falcon-headed terminal emerging from a papyrus umbel. This almost certainly symbolises Montu’s association with Re – the Heliopolitan sun-god also depicted with a falcon head - as his Upper Egyptian counterpart.

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.

Restrung using long tubular beads interspersed with annular beads, two melon beads above a large pylon-shaped pectoral pendant with raised lip. 62 grams, 65 cm



From the vendor's grandfather's collection, formed in the 1950s; thence by family descent circa 1974.