LOT 0491

Egyptian Faience Duck Scaraboid with Hieroglyphs

LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.

3/4 in. (2.82 grams, 19 mm).

Modelled as a resting duck with its neck curved around the upper body, feather detailing on the wings, tail, and body, and delicately formed head; the underside features a baboon in a posture of adoration before an obelisk, wearing a lunar disc and crescent headdress, with a neb sign below.

From the property of a London, UK, gentleman, 1970-2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, p. 53 fig. 54d, for a similar duck scaraboid; Matouk, F.S., Corpus du scarabée égyptien. Vol. 2: Analyse thématique, Beirut, 1976, p. 388, nos. 814-815, for similar-themed scarabs.

Baboons were observed worshipping the rising sun with raised arms, a behaviour that Egyptians interpreted as divine reverence. The scarab's imagery symbolises cosmic harmony and sacred wisdom, with the baboon (a manifestation of Thoth in his lunar aspect) showing reverence to an obelisk (a symbol of the solar god, Ra). Thus, it blends moon and sun symbolism, embodying balance, cyclical renewal, divine order, and the interplay between knowledge (Thoth) and power (Ra). The neb sign indicates lordship or possession over all the celestial forces.