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LOT 0580
Egyptian Faience Nefertem Statuette with Hieroglyphs
LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 664-30 B.C.
4 1/2 in. (42.8 grams, 11.6 cm).
Presented in a striding pose with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides; wearing his emblem, the lotus-flower headdress from which two plumes emerge, and a menat on each side; dorsal pillar with hieroglyphs, beginning with the incantation: "Words spoken by Nefertum, son of Sekhmet...."
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, pp. 18-19, for a discussion of Nefertum amulets; Tinius, I., Altägypten in Braunschweig. Die Sammlungen des Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museums und des Städtischen Museums, Wiesbaden, 2011, pp. 143-144, nos. 259-260, for two examples.
FootnotesNefertum is usually depicted as a young man wearing a headdress with a lotus flower or a crown featuring the flower. The god is often linked to beauty, healing, and the lotus flower, with his cult connected to the royal family and the cycle of rebirth. Nefertum’s imagery and symbolism associate him with themes of creation, renewal, and the sun; he symbolises the first sunlight and the pleasant scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, emerging from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water lily.
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Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Comprising: a large fragment of a segmentum in linen and wool, S torsion, fringed borders, embroidered with vegetal ornaments; a purple on linen tabula with geometric decoration; a fragment of a segmentum in wool and linen, with circular embroidery; and a large fragment of a tablion, ornamented with images of fishes, birds and vegetal patterns in red, green, yellow and dark blue wool, the central tondo missing. 114 grams total including package, 13-24.6 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Water plant elements are scattered across the bottom of the tablion, which is decorated with water birds; these decorations likely surrounded the image of a nereid. These abstract decorations show a strong stylisation often giving the marine animals a plant-like appearance. -
Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of the Reliefs of the Temple of Medynet-Abou at Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 11 from Phillipeaux Thèbes - Medynet-Abou Marche Triomphale sculptée dans la Galerie-Nord du Péristyle du Palais with military procession in three registers. 231 grams, 104 x 70 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). Medinet Habu is the name given to the impressive mortuary temple built for Ramesses III. The walls are covered with scenes of religious and royal ceremonies, as well as battle scenes. An earlier temple and later tomb complexes are found within its impressive enclosure walls. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment
Circa 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
An orbiculus in yellow, green and red wool and coarse linen, on brown linen background, S torsion, embroidered with a stylised hare within a green circle. 11 grams total including package, 71 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
In early Christian iconography, the hare was a symbol representing primarily the Church hiding in Christ (the ‘rock’ of Psalm 103:18) from a sinful world. This interpretation drew from the Old Testament's description of the hare as a weak creature that makes its lair in the rock, signifying the Church's reliance on Christ for safety. It was also linked to resurrection and fertility.
