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LOT 0004
Egyptian Faience Hieroglyphic Shabti
LATE NEW KINGDOM-EARLY THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA 1200-1000 B.C.
4 1/2 in. (87 grams, 11.3 cm).
Mummiform figure wearing a lappet wig, with arms crossed and holding a pick and hoe outlined in black; the wig, facial features, necklace, and seed bag painted black; hieroglyphic text to lower body: sḥḏ wsỉr "The illuminated, the Osiris".
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Janes, G., The Shabti Collections 6: A Selection from the World Museum, Liverpool, Lymm, 2016, p. 170-171, nos. 62-63, for similar partially inscribed shabtis.
FootnotesThe shabti was a stock product included with an opening dedication, awaiting the addition of the prospective purchaser's name. However, many examples of shabtis with only partial dedications are known to have been buried with the deceased.
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Egyptian Bronze Figure of a Shrew
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Modelled in the round in a crouching pose on a rectangular base with an attachment peg. 145 grams, 73 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
This figure most likely comes from a shrew coffin or votive statuette. The dwarf shrew (Crocidura nana) and Flower’s shrew (Crocidura floweri) were among many animal species buried in dedicated cemeteries across various parts of Egypt. Ironically, these tiny creatures symbolised Horus in his raptor-headed form — a figure who, in reality, would have preyed upon them. Shrews were associated with Khenty-irty, the “seeing-and-blind god,” due to their ability to navigate darkness. It may be possible to read the shrew’s symbolism as that of seeking light in darkness, representing the Egyptian belief in the deceased’s journey through the hours of the night before rebirth at dawn. Radiographic analysis of a bundle containing about twenty-one shrews shows that they were dried whole, with no evisceration, preserved by being ‘pickled’ in natron. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising: an orbiculus in coarse linen and brown wool, S torsion, embroidered with a stylised figure; a fragment of a second orbiculus in red, green, white and black wool, crenellated borders. 11 grams total including package, 47-67 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The iconography of this fragment is called "Nilotic," as it depicts plant and human elements linked to life on the Nile River. These images are recurrent on Coptic textiles. Weavers created patterns that allowed them to reproduce these motifs on any type of fabric (curtains, tassels, clothing). -
Egyptian Gold Bes Amulet
New Kingdom, circa 1550-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Mask of Bes with feathered crown; attachment bar to reverse. 3.57 grams, 18 mm
Ex French collection, early 20th century. From the collection of a late Japanese gentleman, 1970s onwards.
From the New Kingdom onwards, Bes became one of ancient Egypt's most popular apotropaic deities. Despite his somewhat fearsome appearance, Bes served as the patron and protector of pregnant women and children, and was also believed to shield them from snakes.
