Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Mask

Comprising: terminal part of a clavus connected by a thin band to the missing orbiculus in red granate and coarse linen, S torsion, embroidered with stylised birds and palmettes; fragment of fabric, embroidered with two segments, in black, red granate and white wool, over a coarse linen background; the internal part of the segments decorated with motifs of running hares, the linen background with opposed running black hares. 61 grams total including package, 23-23.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The clavus and orbiculus ornamented a tunic of white linen, often given to soldiers or member of the military class. The stylised birds possibly represent swans.

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).

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 79 from Description De L'Égypte : Ou, Recueil Des Observations Et Des Recherches Qui Ont Été Faites En Égypte Pendant L'expédition De L'Armée Française. Seconde Edition. Dediee Au Roi, entitled Esné (Latopolis). Zodiaque Sculpté Au Plafond Du Portique. 106 grams, 106 x 35 cm



From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The Temple of Khnum at Esna, visible today, is mostly of Ptolemaic and Roman date. The decorative zodiac dates to the reign of Ptolemy III.