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LOT 0053
Egyptian Faience Mayhes Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
3 1/4 in. (50.8 grams total, 84 mm including stand).
Standing erect with dorsal pillar and rectangular base, arms straight and one leg advancing; lion-head wearing atef crown and a uraeus; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceEx early 20th century London, UK, collection.
LiteratureCf. Daressy, G., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire N° 38001-39384 Statues de divinités, Cairo, 1906, p. 151 (inv. no. 38579), pl. XXXII, for a similar example from Abydos.
FootnotesMahes was an Egyptian lion-headed deity linked to divine protection, royal authority, and retributive justice. Considered a son of the goddess Bastet—or, in some traditions, Sekhmet—he embodied the fierce, solar power of the sun god Re and served as a fierce protector of cosmic order. Mahes was especially venerated in the Delta region, notably at Leontopolis, where his leonine form highlighted his role as a guardian and destroyer of enemies. Iconographically, he is commonly depicted as a lion or, as here, a man with a lion’s head, wearing an atef- crown.
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Egyptian Painted Limestone Mummiform Sekhmet Statuette
Circa 7th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,000
Carved in the round depiction of Bastet or Sekhmet in a lion-headed form with a tripartite headdress, with front lappets overlain by the leonine mane; between the ears, a hole possibly for the insertion of a separate sun disc element; red pigment lines and fringe to the shoulders; a black diamond pattern with central red dots decorating the back, and a winged scarab in black on the abdomen; marked on the underside with the collector's reference 'BAOP SAKKARA'; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 29 grams total, 77 mm including stand
Private collection of George Anastase Michaelides (1900-1973) and legally exported from Egypt in the 1940s. Black ink inscription on base "BAOP SAKKARA". Christie's, London, 29 October 2003, no.167. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13101-248076.
Considering the specified Saqqara provenance, it is probable that the statuette originated from the Bubastaeion, dedicated to Bastet. The goddess was more commonly depicted as a cat or a human with a cat's head, although she also sometimes displayed a leonine aspect. It is also possible that the statuette represents her son, Mahes, who was depicted as a man with a lion's head. -
Egyptian Black Hardstone Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Dark green hardstone with paler speckles; with a boldly carved head, clypeus, prothorax and elytra, and legs indicated at the sides; plain underside. 17 grams, 29 mm
Ex Irene Newman, Birdham, Chichester, West Sussex, England. with Stride & Son Auctioneers, Chichester, West Sussex, England, 23 April 2015, no.1599 [Part]. Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.
The scarab, which represented the dung beetle, was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt for approximately two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period when it gradually fell out of favour. The popularity of scarabs extended beyond the borders of Egypt, and they were also distributed and produced in other regions, such as Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri, derived from the verb 'to come into existence', and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri, who was self-engendered. The ancient Egyptians mistakenly believed that the young beetle emerging from the dung ball was the result of an act of self-creation. -
Egyptian Faience Amulet Collection
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £450 - 650 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £225
Comprising: an amuletic bead consisting of a row of seven Taweret figures on a rectangular base, pierced longitudinally; a seated ibis before a diminutive figure of Maat on a tongue-shaped base; a cippus amulet composed of the figure of Pataikos standing on two crocodiles, with two hawks perched on his shoulders, a scarab on his head, flanked by the figures of Isis and Nephthys, and on the back, a winged goddess standing on the crocodiles' tails. 6.5 grams total, 16-30 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
