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LOT 0011
Egyptian Faience Amuletic Bes Plaque
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
2 in. (23.8 grams, 52 mm).
Oval plaque with ribbed outer edge, central depiction of the typically grimacing face of Bes wearing a feathered headdress.
ProvenanceFrom an early 20th century collection.
LiteratureCf. Reisner, G.A., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Nos.12528-13595, Vol. II, Amulets, Cairo, 1958, pl. IV, no. 12664, for a comparable Bes plaque.
FootnotesFrom the New Kingdom onward, Bes became one of ancient Egypt's most popular apotropaic deities. Despite his somewhat fearsome appearance, Bes served as the patron and protector of pregnant women and children and was also believed to shield them from snakes.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0011
Egyptian Faience Amuletic Bes Plaque
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience Heart Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £300
With fine anatomical detailing on the body and striated wingcase, legs folded beneath the body and flanked by a ribbed suspension loop. 1.89 grams, 20 mm
Ex Swedish nobleman's collection, early 20th century, reputedly from Petrie’s excavations. -
Egyptian Steatite Heart Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £120 - 170 (‡+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £60
With ribbed carapace and suspension loop to underside. 2.89 grams, 22 mm
Acquired on the European art market in the early 2000s. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. -
Egyptian Polychrome Wooden Sokar Falcon
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Bids: 4 | Current Bid: £20
Statuette depicting the couchant falcon god Sokar with wings folded along the sides of the body; chest, wings, and legs with painted details; inked legend on the underside reading 'Ex George Wathen / 1893 / 12'. 16 grams, 71 mm
Ex George Henry Wathen collection from 1843, who wrote and illustrated the important work 'The Arts, Antiquity and Chronology of Ancient Egypt'. From the collection of David Donlan (1947–2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery.
Wooden images of the raptor-form god Sokar typically decorated the tops of rectangular wooden coffins and canopic chests, which held jars containing the deceased’s mummified organs. Sokar was a protective god of the Memphite necropolis and was often merged with the funerary god Osiris and Ptah, the creator deity of Memphis. George Henry Wathen, FGS (21 November 1816 – 10 November 1879) was a geologist, author, magazine publisher, and South African politician of the Victorian era known primarily for his books on the antiquities of Egypt and the gold fields of Victoria, Australia.