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LOT 0036
Egyptian Faience Bull-Headed Shabti from the Serapeum at Saqqara
NEW KINGDOM, RAMESSIDE PERIOD, 1295-1069 B.C.
5 7/8 in. (152 grams total, 15 cm including stand).
Pale faience figurine representing a bull-headed mummy adorned with a tripartite wig and human arms crossed over the chest with hands holding a pick and a hoe; only the lower legs and feet missing; the opening part of a central panel of hieroglyphic inscription reads: Wsir ͗ ḥp, 'the Osiris Apis'; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceProbably found at the Serapeum at Saqqara in the 19th century.
From the private collection of the late Mr M.S.C., Norfolk, UK, formed 1950s-1960s.
Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Cf. Mariette, A., Le Serapeum de Memphis, Paris, 1882, pl. 19, for others of the type.
FootnotesWhile most shabtis served as substitutes or servants of the deceased and were placed in the tomb, some, like this example, were votive objects deposited in places of great sanctity. Virtually all known Apis shabtis come from excavations in the Serapeum catacombs led by Auguste Mariette from 1850 to 1853. They all belong to activity dating to the 19th and 20th Dynasties (circa 1295-1069 BC) and were unearthed in various chambers where they had been placed as votive offerings to honour the deified Apis bulls.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0036
Egyptian Faience Bull-Headed Shabti from the Serapeum at Saqqara
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,250
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Egyptian Gold Bull Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Depicting a striding bull with a suspension loop on the back. 0.19 grams, 11 mm
From the private collection of the late Mrs Belinda Ellison, a long time member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, c.1940-2020. -
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Egyptian Bronze Figure of Harpocrates
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,250
Seated nude statuette of Harpocrates, with legs together and left arm by his side, right arm bent across the chest with forefinger raised to his lips, wearing a nemes headdress with uraeus on the front and a bold sidelock on the right side, surmounted by an elaborate hem-hem crown consisting of three conical atef crowns each topped with a sun disc, with an ostrich plume to the side of the outermost, and flanked by two uraei with sun discs, all supported on two horizontal ram's horns; semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing; feet resting on an integral square plinth, mounted on a wooden stand. 584 grams, 18.5 cm
Ex pre-war collection, Switzerland. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00075707. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12371-226682.
Harpocrates is the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which translates as 'Horus the Child'. This refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. Statuettes of Harpocrates could provide the dedicator with the same protection that Isis gave her beloved son. -
Egyptian Faience Thoth and Horus in a Boat
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Modelled in the round, comprising a small barque with a seated baboon and a falcon, possibly Thoth and Horus, with a slot to the underside. 35.9 grams, 64 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
In Egyptian mythology, Thoth restored the eye of Horus, suggesting that this may be the theme of the figurine's composition. Alternatively, the composition may be a condensed depiction of the funerary vignette, which shows the falcon form of the sun god Re in his solar barque flanked by baboons in an attitude of praise. The slot in the underside suggests it was once attached to a separate base.
