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LOT 0520
Egyptian Faience Bastet Cat Amulet Collection
NEW KINGDOM, 1550-1070 B.C. AND LATER
1 7/8 - 2 in. (83 grams total, 47-52 mm including stands).
Pale yellow, turquoise, and blue faience seated cat figures, each shown on a base plinth and with a suspension loop behind the head. [3]
ProvenanceCollection of a Lady, circa 1940.
From a specialist collection.
Cf. Lacovara, P., and Markowitz, Y.J., Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester MA, 2020, pp. 108-109, for examples of similar cat amulets.
FootnotesIn ancient Egypt, the cat was revered as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose main cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk customs, their formal worship expanded across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely connected to lion-headed goddesses such as Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became linked to solar imagery: the Book of the Dead depicts the sun god as a Great Cat defeating Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also represent the Eye of the Sun or, more commonly in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were often offered as votive offerings, and some were decorated with finely crafted bronze heads to emphasise their divine likeness.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0520
Egyptian Faience Bastet Cat Amulet Collection
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Phoenician Glass Bead Collection
6th-3rd century B.C. or laterEstimate: £900 - 1,200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £475
Comprising a group of crumb-decorated polychrome oblate beads and a centrepiece pendant formed as a stylised bearded head. 179 grams total, 12-42 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
The Phoenicians, renowned seafarers and traders, were also skilled glassworkers. They produced a wide variety of glass beads using core-forming and winding techniques, with vivid colours and elaborate designs that reflect both technical mastery and cross-cultural influence. Among the most iconic Phoenician beads are glass 'head' beads, crafted in the form of stylised human or mythological faces. Typically, they feature exaggerated facial details like bulging eyes, large noses, beards, and headdresses, often with expressive or comic features. They were possibly worn as amulets to ward off evil or attract protection, though they may also represent deities, ancestors, or foreigners. These beads often incorporate Egyptian, Greek, and Near Eastern stylistic elements, reflecting the Phoenicians’ extensive trade networks. -
Egyptian Faience Group of Amulets
New Kingdom-Ptolemaic Period, 1550-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising of blue-glazed composite amulets including lotus flower; crescentic bead; bird amulet with minor chips to the body; four scarabs with longitudinal piercing and carvings to the underside; a plain green stone rectangular plaque with ribbed suspension bar to the top. 6.17 grams total, 10-24 mm
From the Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1980) collection; thence by descent. -
Egyptian Gold Vase-Shaped Bead
Late New Kingdom, 1279-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
With median baluster and flange to each end. 4.80 grams, 50 mm
Ex French collection, early 20th century.
This bead likely represents a hes vase, an important ritual vessel used for libations to both the living and the dead.
