Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Necklace

D-shaped in section with tongue-shaped base, slender, long-limbed female figure modelled in the half-round with tightly curled, shoulder length hair, the chest and abdomen with linear and dotted decoration. 69 grams, 14.6 cm



From an old English deceased estate. Property of a London, UK, collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Displaying semi-naturalistic detailing in relief, beneath a band of headdress ornament composed of rows of architectural dot-and-dash and zig-zag patterns over a segmental panel, possible hieroglyphs to the top tier; attachment pegs to the sides of the face and through the head; extensive remains of painted black pigmentation and composition fill to the eyes. 677 grams, 36 cm



From a French estate, acquired between 1960 and 1980. with SAS Cornette de Saint Cyr Auction, Paris, Vente 882, Mobilier et Objets d'art, 2 December 2014, lot 69. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.167062. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Alberto Maria Pollastrini. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11807-206837. 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.

An over-life-size head of a pharaoh, likely from a monumental sphinx, wearing the royal nemes headdress with a prominent headband and the remains of a rearing uraeus on the brow with a single coil of the body on either side of the cobra’s hood, its tail extending towards the back of the headdress; the large, almond-shaped eyes prominently outlined, and unlike on some portraits, the cosmetic lines do not extend beyond the outer corner; the fragmentary nose almost spanning the width of the small mouth modelled with straight and somewhat pursed lips; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 45.15 kg, 43 cm



Private collection, Germany, 1975. European collection, 1980s-late 1990s. By descent from the above to the present owner. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12201-218142. 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.

The presence of tool marks around the neck and sides of the head, contrasting the smooth surface of the face and front part of the headdress, suggests that the sculpture is an unfinished piece. The noticeably heavy brow line is a feature of the 30th Dynasty style, which then influenced Ptolemaic royal portraiture (cf. Tomoum, N., The Sculptors' Models of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, Cairo, 2006, pl.17, for a finished portrait assigned to the 30th Dynasty).