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LOT 0489
Egyptian Faience Beaded Mummy Mask with Sons of Horus
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
10 1/4 in. (72 grams, 26 cm).
Restrung netted beadwork panel of annular and tubular glazed composition beads in blues, greens, black, cream and red-brown colours, depicting a mummy face-mask with false beard, a scarab with extended wings below, the 'Four Sons of Horus’ beneath the scarab, joined together with areas of open netting of tubular beads; restrung with some later beads.
ProvenanceEx Mariaud de Serres, Paris, France, 1990s.
From a London, UK, collection.
Cf. Manley, B., and Dodson, A., Life Everlasting. National Museum of Scotland Collection of Ancient Egyptian Coffins, Edinburgh, 2010, p.114, no.43, for a bead-work shroud incorporating the mask, winged scarab, and Four Sons of Horus.
FootnotesThe Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the internal organs of the deceased. Here, on the left, we can see the jackal-headed Duamutef, who protected the stomach, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, protector of the intestines, then the human-headed Imsety, who protected the liver and, finally, the baboon-headed Hapy, protected the lungs, on the right.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Limestone 'Floral' Inlay Group
Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £26
Group of discoid inlay plaques or gaming counters, crinoids with cinquefoil motif. 35 grams total, 14-18 mm
From a central London ADA dealership, 1980-1990.
Flowers were symbolic of rebirth due to the daily reopening of their petals after nightfall. As a result, they were widely used in domestic settings, religious and funerary contexts, and as adornments. Similar rosette discs, like those recovered from the Ramesside Period palace at Qantir, were used as decorative elements in royal palaces. -
Egyptian Gold Winged Plaque
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Rectangular foil plaque with repoussé design of a winged scarab; edges pierced for attachment. 0.47 grams, 22 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Multi-stranded designer necklace composed of beads of mainly annular and tubular types. 21 grams, 74 cm
Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014.
For thousands of years, artisans in Egypt created vibrant ceramics to echo the beauty of rare jewels. These ornaments were created with almost every material, colour, and texture imaginable and they come from across Egypt and beyond: vibrant blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glossy black obsidian from Turkey, and aqua-green turquoise from the Sinai. They were worn in life and, after death, they served as precious ornamentation for mummies.
