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Details
LOT 0017
Egyptian Falcon-Headed Lapis Lazuli Scaraboid
LATE PERIOD, 664-525 B.C.
5/8 in. (2.73 grams, 17 mm).
Naturalistic detailing to the underside with pierced lug for attachment; detailed clypeus on upper side, modelled with a falcon head.
Provenance
From an early 20th century collection, Home Counties, UK, 1930-1940s.
Literature
Cf. Ben-Tor, D., The Scarab: A Reflection of Ancient Egypt, Jerusalem, 1989, p.39, for discussion, p.78, nos. 16-17, for lapis lazuli examples; Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, item 59(c).
Footnotes
Funerary scarabs with falcon heads such as this were placed within the wrappings of the mummy on various parts of the body. They undoubtedly served a protective role, perhaps with solar connotations of rebirth (suggested by the falcon head) but, unlike heart scarabs, their precise function is not known.
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LOT 0017
Egyptian Falcon-Headed Lapis Lazuli Scaraboid
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Very fine condition.
Smith family collection, Cambridge, UK since 1949. Private UK collection since 1978. Accompanied by a scholarly note 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.11033-183985.
The moon god Khonsu (whose name means 'wanderer', referring to the passage of the moon across the sky) is known as a blood-thirsty sky-deity in the Pyramid Texts. In New Kingdom Thebes, however, he was regarded as a far more benevolent deity, being the child of Amun and Mut, and provided with his own temple at Karnak. There, he was considered to control destiny. Khonsu can appear in human form with a side-lock of youth, wearing an enveloping garment, and holding royal regalia, and also as a falcon-headed man with the full moon and crescent new moon headdress, as with this fine example. In his falcon-headed form he frequently holds an ankh symbol and a was-sceptre, for which the hands of this piece were drilled to accept the god's well-known attributes.
