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LOT 0459
Egyptian Faience Shabti Collection
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
2 3/4 - 3 3/8 in. (74.88 grams total, 70-85 mm).
All are typical mummiform figures, each wearing a lappet wig and false beard, holding a pick, a hoe, and a seed bag, with an impressed column of hieroglyphs on the front and a pillar at the back. [6]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Schlögl, H., and Brodbeck, A., Ägyptische Totenfiguren aus öffentlichen und privaten sammlungen der Schweiz, Göttingen, 1990, p. 277, no. 194, for a similar type.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Faience Lion's Head Amulet
Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Modelled frontally with a radiating mane framing the face, pierced horizontally. 1.23 grams, 14.8 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Egyptian Gold Bastet Seated Cat Amulet
Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 0.51 grams, 8 mm
Ex French collection, early 20th century.
The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye, which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet, and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts, she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru', which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis, and at Saqqara and Memphis. -
Egyptian Mummy Bead Necklace
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Composed of polychrome annular beads with modern metallic beads and a clasp, restrung. 8.48 grams, 46 cm long
Acquired Town Hall Antiques, Market Place, Woburn, Bedfordshire, UK, on 2nd March 2001. Property of a West Northamptonshire, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by the original Town Hall Antiques invoice.
