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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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LOT 0489
Egyptian Faience Beaded Mummy Mask with Sons of Horus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £358
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Egyptian Faience Amulet of an Ibis
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
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. 3.54 grams, 31 mm
with Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 3 October 2000, no.413. Private collection, Europe.
The 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. -
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 Jasper Poppy Head Amulet
New Kingdom, 18th-19th Dynasty, circa 1550-1213 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Polished and with integral pierced suspension loop. 0.78 grams, 15 mm
From an early 20th century collection.
Amulets in the form of poppies were used to heal, alleviate pain, and ward off death. This type of amulet was also associated with Osiris, the Egyptian deity of agriculture, death, and the afterlife.
