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LOT 0479
Egyptian Four-Sided Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
2 3/8 in. (21 grams, 60 mm).
An elaborate amulet in bright blue faience, modelled on four sides: Side 1: a diminutive figure of Harpokrates holding a snake in each hand and standing on the back of a lion, below which is a stylised mummiform (?) figure with a nemes headdress and a broad ornamental collar; Side 2: a baboon seated upon a nebyt collar, below which is a standing naked female figure wearing a Hathoric wig; Side 3: a standing naked female figure with right arm hanging by her side and left arm bent at the elbow and forearm positioned beneath her breasts, wearing a composite wig with striated lappets and uraeus to the front, surmounted by two tall ostrich feathers fronted by a sun disc; Side 4: a standing naked female figure with right arm hanging by her side and left arm bent at the elbow and forearm positioned beneath her breasts, wearing a lappet wig and uraeus to the front, surmounted by a tall two-plumed headdress fronted by a sun disc; the figure of a falcon tops the composition, which stands on an integral plinth.
ProvenanceMr F.D. collection, acquired on the European art market, 1975 to present.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This highly unusual amulet contains elements associated with Horus cippi. On such objects, Horus is depicted as a naked child, usually holding snakes and standing on crocodiles, though other dangerous animals, such as lions, are also represented with him. The goddesses Isis and Nephthys are typically found on cippi, and two of the three female figures on this amulet may represent these goddesses. However, their headdresses are untypical of either deity, while the third female figure sports the Hathor wig.
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AUCTIONS:
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Very Large Egyptian Wooden Head of Osiris
30th Dynasty-Ptolemaic Period, 380-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,000
Carved in the round head with plaster prepared surface; with integral Atef crown ornamented with lateral bronze ostrich plumes and uraeus to the brow; carved facial detailing with broad nose and small mouth; applied bronze braided beard with scrolled tip; ears pierced to accept earrings; mounted on a custom-made stand. 3.62 kg total, 52.5 cm high including stand
Acquired by the family from an antiquities dealer in Egypt, October 1982. Ex Dunkirk Manor, Theescombe, Stroud. Mr F.D. collection, acquired from the above. 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 a search certificate number no.12513-231999. 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.
This head likely originates from a large-scale standing figure of the underworld god Osiris. In contrast to the ubiquitous small bronze Osiris figurines found at cult sites throughout Egypt – which were left by pilgrims as votive offerings – large-scale wooden statues are much rarer. Their scarcity is partly due to the fragile nature of wood, which made such statues more susceptible to decay over time, but also because these larger figures were used in more specialised and exclusive ritual contexts. This is evidenced by the significant discovery of a large wooden Osiris statue in a cache of votive objects at Saqqara, associated with a temple shrine. The find suggests that the sizeable image of Osiris played an important role in religious ceremonies in the temple, where it presumably served as the focus of veneration. The Saqqara cache dates no later than the reign of Nectanebo II (360-343 B.C.), whose temple pavement covered it. However, the exact dating of the wooden statue is less certain, with estimates ranging from the New Kingdom to the 26th Dynasty. -
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Egyptian Orange Carnelian Poppy Head Amulet
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1550-1292 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Polished and with integral suspension loop. 0.3 grams, 12 mm
Ex UK gallery, early 2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Amulets in the form of poppies were used to heal and alleviate pain and to ward off death. These types of amulets were also linked to Osiris, the Egyptian deity of agriculture, death, and the afterlife. -
Egyptian Faience Beads and Other Fragments
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Including seed and tubular beads, and other items. 38 grams total, 1-14 mm
From an old English collection. Acquired from Brigantia, York, 1990s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
