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LOT 0013
Egyptian Faience Crocodile Amulet
LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
3 in. (13.4 grams, 74 mm).
Representing the god Sobek; detailed face and scales; standing on a rectangular plinth; pierced to the front for suspension.
ProvenanceFrom the estate of the late Professor Dr E. Bernardo Streiff, Geneva; a distinguished collection of antiquities formed during the 1950s-1970s.
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12629-236404.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Reisner, G.A., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Nos.5218-6000 et 12001-12527, Vol. I, Amulets, Cairo, 1907, pl. XXIII, nos. 12422 and 12433, for similarly detailed examples.
FootnotesSobek is one of the most ancient and fascinating deities in the Egyptian pantheon. He is typically depicted as a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile, embodying various attributes related to the natural world, power, and protection. Sobek was mainly associated with water, fertility, and the Nile, along with strength and military prowess. His worship extends throughout much of ancient Egyptian history, and he was venerated not only as a force of nature but also as a god of healing, protection, and royal authority. His principal cult centres were situated in the Faiyum region, particularly the city of Crocodilopolis, and also at Kom Ombo in Upper Egypt.
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Egyptian Copper Ring with the Name of Akhenaten
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1353-1336 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
A 'stirrup' type ring with a substantial oval-shaped bezel bearing the name of Pharaoh Akhenaten - Nefer-kheperu-re Wah-en-re; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 7.28 grams, 19.03 mm overall, 12.08 mm internal diameter
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Akhenaten, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh (c. 1353-1336 BCE), introduced a major religious shift by promoting the Aten, the sun disc, as the sole god. Rejecting the traditional polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt, Akhenaten elevated the Aten above all other gods and even changed his name from Amenhotep (IV) to Akhenaten, meaning ‘Effective for the Aten’. He founded a new short-lived capital in Middle Egypt called Akhetaten. However, traditional polytheism was restored after his death, and his reforms were largely reversed. -
Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
7th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With an ovoid body and two small lug handles to the upper body. 121 grams, 72 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The name by which we know the vessel in question comes directly from its name in Greek— alábastron —which itself was derived from Egyptian, although It is difficult to say whether the name in Egyptian first applied to the type of vessel or to the stone used to make it. Pliny (NH 36.12, 37.54) includes an alabastrites or alabastritis from Alabastrum near Thebes in Egypt among his description of stones, and Theophrastus (On Stones, 1.6) an alabastrítes, also from near Thebes. Ptolemy (Geography, 4.5) even mentions an alabastrites mons, a mountain of alabaster, in the same vicinity. The prototype of the alabastron shape with two lug handles first appeared in Egypt at the end of the Middle Kingdom and continued in use with slight variations through New Kingdom times. After an apparent hiatus in the use of the shape at the end of the Late Bronze Age, it appeared again in the second half of the eighth century in a form more similar to our specimen and became common by the 26th Dynasty. -
Egyptian Faience Scarab Wing Pair
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Each flat-section with a band of feathers within the border, two attachment holes. 15 grams total, 43-44 mm
From the private collection of the late Julian Bird, UK, formed since the 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
These wings were once part of a central scarab amulet. Winged scarabs often served as funerary adornments and were believed to symbolise the rebirth and regeneration of the deceased.
