Egyptian Faience Shabti of Tent-Aset

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 6 from Description de l'egypte entitled Île de Philae. Coupe et élévation de la galerie de l'est. Élévations des deux colonnades et de l'édifice du sud. Élévation du premier pylône. 252 grams, 104 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 Philae temple complex was one of the major monuments dismantled from its original location and relocated to a new site during the Aswan High Dam project. Most of the complex dates to the Ptolemaic Period, although some earlier and later elements remain.

With linear detailing to the carapace, the underside with a drilled image of two figures holding hands on a baseline; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2 grams, 13 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.

Two wooden panels showing two standing nimbate figures, probably Saint Daloucham on the right, wearing a red veil, and a bearded figure on the left, probably Saint Pachomius, holding a small cross and prayer beads; mounted on a fabric-covered backing board. 1.05 kg total, 65.2 x 50 cm



Leclere, Marseille, 20 April 2013, no.99. Private collection, UK. 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 search certificate number no.12184-221677.

Stylistically, the icon can be compared to the paintings in the Church of St. Thomas in Achmim, which could also help identify one of the two saints. Especially important in this regard are the parallels between the robes of the saints and those of Saint Thomas in the church’s Doom, with long folds coloured with identical colours; the floral decoration of the sleeves of the inner tunic, and the faces of the Saints, with oval and widened eyes. The influence of Ethiopian paintings of the same period is evident in the Church of Achmim, like in this icon. The painting preserves the distant memory of medieval paintings, through a Coptic cultural humus whose vestiges are still today in Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. In the Church of Achmim are represented the martyrs of Achmim, i.e. Saint Pachomius and his sister Saint Daloucham. It is not impossible that one of the represented ascetic monks could be Pachomius. It is also probable that the icon was part of a wider group, representing also other important characters of the Coptic Church.