Egyptian Faience Scarab with Hieroglyphs

Encaustic painting on thin linen fabric, upper part of the funeral shroud with half-length representation of the deceased, representing the bust of a young man in the guise of mummiform Osiris holding implements of his divinity, black hair, wearing a gilt broad collar (maniakion) and netting, pink dress ornamented with rosettes, traces of halo in white pigment; set in a glazed frame. 4.3 kg, 58 x 63 cm including frame



Collection of the estate of Patti Cadby Birch (1923-2007), New York, USA. with Sotheby’s, New York, Antiquities, 5 June 2008, sale no.8452, no.105. European private collection, acquired thereafter. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00014603. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12612-234638. 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.

Fayum portraits, painted on wood or linen, applied to the mummies of the Graeco-Roman period, are one of the most wonderful legacies that the koiné of the Graeco-Roman world has left us. Due to the favourable climate enhancing the state of preservation, these encaustic paintings have left us an almost photographic testimony of the faces of the inhabitants of Roman Egypt. The realistic portrait shows here the idea of the deceased as Osiris. This idea, already existing in the Ptolemaic Period regardless of the gender of the person represented, continued to exist in the Graeco-Roman period. The deceased is undoubtedly a young man, beardless, with black and slightly frizzy hair. A similar male portrait with the same type of clothing, the attributes: nimbus and the identifying elements of Osiris can be found in a portrait now in Paris (Parlasca, 2003, no.771, pl.172,3). Patti Cadby Birch (1923-2007) was a prominent American philanthropist and collector, known for her significant contributions to the arts. A patron of institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, she supported numerous exhibitions and acquisitions, particularly in the fields of antiquities and Islamic art. Works from her esteemed collection have been widely exhibited and are held in several major museum collections.

Comprising a large fragment of a segmentum in linen and wool, decorated with orbiculi, a warrior to the centre flanked by hares; a large fragment of a segmentum in purple embroidery, comprising a central row with Nubian figures and borders with geometric decoration; a third segmentum in red, green and yellow wool with central vegetal ornaments. 126 grams total including package, 28-31.2 cm



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

The theme of rabbits or hares, in association with other characters and animals of the Dionysian thiasos in a hunting setting, has notable parallels. The warrior in the center of the medallion holds a spear and shield and raises his left leg forward. Such representations are linked to narratives of the Dionysian cycle.

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 51 from Vol.I of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Edfou (Apollinopolis magna. Élévation du pylône du grand temple. 230 grams,106 x 68.5 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 Horus at Edfu, located on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt. Built in the Ptolemaic Period, it remains one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt.