Egyptian Faience Nefertem Statuette with Hieroglyphs

Rectangular relief featuring three horizontal bands of hieroglyphic text, which preserve part of an offering formula and two titles: Overseer of all fruit trees (ı͗my-rꜢ ḫt nb(t) bnrt) and Overseer of the King’s repast (ı͗my-rꜢ Ꜥbw-rꜢ nswt); a vertical panel displays two more titles: Courtier of the (royal) house (smr pr), Director of the Dining Hall of the Great House (ḫrp sḥ pr-ꜤꜢ), and the deceased's name Shepset (šps.t); to the right, there is a standing figure of the deceased dressed in a long kilt and holding a staff of office; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 27.3 kg total, 70 cm wide including stand



Acquired 1970s-1996. Private collection, Switzerland. with a North American collector. London collection, 2016. 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.12944-244463.

The deceased's name is somewhat unusual. The name ends with a bread loaf sign, suggesting it belongs to a female, which is clearly not the case here. Even if one reads the seated figure as a determinative, which would render the name as Set (st), this too would belong to a female. It could simply be an error by the layout scribe and/or sculptor, or the name may be incomplete. The lower border was a decorative feature used both horizontally and vertically to define distinct zones, or registers, in tomb reliefs. The original position of the present fragment may be suggested by a similarly arranged text-and-figure composition decorating the lintel of the doorway leading to the funerary chapel in a tomb at Giza belonging to a man named Ankhaf. Although oriented in the opposite direction, the staff-holding, standing figure of Ankhaf is depicted before a vertical column of inscription, with three longer horizontal bands of text to the right. The first two horizontal lines contain an offering formula invoking Anubis and Osiris, while the third line lists his titles. These are partly repeated in the vertical column, followed by Ankhaf’s name. The decorative border beneath the inscriptions on the present example would not seem out of place in such a setting. Another plausible location for the original placement of the present fragment would be the architrave of a tomb’s false door – the symbolic portal through which the deceased could re-enter the world of the living and partake in food offerings made by priests or relatives. In either location, the composition identifies the tomb owner by image and name, states his official credentials, and designates him as the sole recipient of the offerings listed in the accompanying formula.

Showing a female figure as part of a procession, carrying a loaf of bread, a second offerant behind her; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 3.12 kg total, 42 cm high including stand



From the estate of the late Professor Dr E. Bernardo Streiff, Geneva; a distinguished collection of antiquities formed during the 1950s-1970s. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12625-236383.

Professor Dr E. Bernardo Streiff (1911-2001) was a prominent Swiss physician and academic based in Geneva, best known for his contributions to medical science as well as his deep passion for ancient art and antiquities. Over the course of several decades, particularly between the 1950s and 1970s, Professor Streiff assembled a highly regarded private collection of antiquities, reflecting both scholarly discernment and aesthetic sensitivity. His interests focused on the art and material culture of the ancient Mediterranean, with a particular emphasis on Greek, Etruscan, and Roman objects. A connoisseur guided by academic rigour, Dr Streiff maintained close ties with museums, galleries, and archaeological experts of his time. Many pieces from his collection were acquired from leading European dealers and fairs, and are notable for their quality, provenance, and condition. Following his passing, objects from the Streiff collection have appeared in respected sales and exhibitions, recognised for their integrity and the refined eye of the collector behind them.

Wearing daily dress and carrying agricultural implements, with dark blue details including his short wig with side-lock, designating him as a Sem-priest of Ptah at Memphis, the text on the kilt naming him as 'Sem-priest and King's son Khaemwaset'; with round-topped back support, the reverse with two columns of hieroglyphs with part of the shabti formula: "He says: O shabti, if one counts, if one is reckoned to do all the works that are to be done there in the God’s land—now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith—as a man at his duties, ‘Here I am,’ you shall say when you are counted off to cultivate the fields, transport by boat the sand of the east to the west and vice versa; ‘Here I am,’ you shall say". 284 grams, 15.1 cm



With Barakat, Beverly Hills: reputed to be from the Omar Pasha Sultan collection, (1806-1871) but unpublished in the 1929 catalogue of the collection, nor in Aubert's 1976 article on the shabtis in the collection. Bonhams, London, 1 May 2013, no.282. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages. 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.12938-243536.

Prince Khaemwaset was the fourth-ranked son of Ramesses II and the second born to Queen Isetnofret. More is known about Khaemwaset than any other son of Ramesses II, attested by over 150 objects, ranging from statues to temple reliefs. He is traditionally regarded as the “first Egyptologist” for his restoration of monuments belonging to earlier kings, including the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara. Recent reassessment, however, suggests that some of these activities involved dismantling parts of ancient structures for reuse in his father’s temple constructions.