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LOT 0448
Egyptian Faience Mummy Beadwork Mask with Sons of Horus
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
11 1/4 in. (115 grams, 28.5 cm).
A netted beadwork panel of annular and tubular glazed composition beads in blues, greens, black, cream and red-brown colours, depicting a mummy face mask with a false beard, a scarab with extended wings below, and beneath the 'Four Sons of Horus’, Duamutef, Qebehsenuef, Imsety, and Hapy joined together with areas of open netting of tubular examples; restrung with some later beads.
ProvenanceMariaud de Serres, Paris, 1990s.
FootnotesWinged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets, and were believed to symbolise the rebirth and regeneration of the deceased. The Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the deceased's internal organs. The jackal-headed Duamutef protected the stomach, the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef protected the intestines, the human-headed Imsety protected the liver, and the baboon-headed Hapy protected the lungs. These internal organs were often placed in canopic jars, each with the head of the respective Son of Horus. Amulets depicting these deities were placed within the mummy wrappings.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0448
Egyptian Faience Mummy Beadwork Mask with Sons of Horus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
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Phoenicio-Egyptian Inscribed Frog Amulet
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Carved in the round on an ellipsoid base with incised Phoenician characters to the underside. 1.32 grams, 10 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Egyptian Gold Panel
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Long rectangle with incised detailing, a suspension loop at either narrow end. 0.33 grams, 21 mm
From the private collection of the late Mrs Belinda Ellison, a long time member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, c.1940-2020. -
Egyptian Blue Glazed Faience Figure of Pataikos
Saite Period, 26th Dynasty, 664-545 B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Wearing a broad collar and a stylised scarab on top of the head, elongated arms resting on the lower part of his protruding abdomen. 10.8 grams, 43 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Herodotus mentions Pataikos as a dwarf-like representation of Ptah, although the ancient Egyptian name of the god remains unclear. These diminutive amulets symbolise Ptah’s immense magical power, which served to protect the wearer from dangerous creatures such as snakes and crocodiles. The role of the deity in the funerary sphere is explained in Spell 164 of the Book of the Dead, where a Pataikos is used to protect the deceased's heart from enemy attacks and the putrefaction of the body.