Loading, please wait...
LOT 0660
Egyptian Glass Eye Inlays
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
1 - 1 1/8 in. (4.12 grams total, 27-29 mm).
Almond-shaped with large black irises and white sclerae. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market, 1977-1979.
Private collection, London.
Egyptian coffin eye inlays were both decorative and symbolic, designed to make the coffin appear more lifelike and to assist the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, they featured a white sclera (glass, travertine, alabaster, or quartz), a dark iris (glass or, more often, obsidian), and sometimes red paint at the inner corner. The eyes were often set in bronze or copper frames, occasionally with faience or bronze eyebrows.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0660
Egyptian Glass Eye Inlays
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
-
Egyptian Coptic Wooden Comb
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £230
With fine teeth cut on one side and coarser teeth on the other; some absent; mounted on a custom-made stand. 12.62 grams total, comb: 51 mm, 85 mm high including stand
Ex Carl Leonhard Burckhardt-Reinhard (1902-1965), formed since 1922, Egypt. Inherited by his son Christopher Burckhardt in 1966, Switzerland. Since then in the possession of his wife, Switzerland.
The type is attested in Egypt, where it is particularly well documented in the Coptic Period. The lack of decoration makes a more precise chronological classification difficult. As evidenced by a wooden comb of the same type from Antinoë, the fine-toothed side was also used for removing head lice. In the present example, the comb continued on one side for an indeterminate length. -
Egyptian Stone Age Knapped Tool Group from Thebes
Neolithic Period, 11,000-5,200 B.P.Estimate: £60 - 80 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising three knapped tools, each with an inked inscription 'W.Thebes 1912'. 216 grams total, 61-85 mm
Found Thebes. From the collection of A.D.Passmore (1879-1958), his collection of flints from the area of Stonehenge was donated to the Ashmolean Museum in the 1950s. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by a copy of an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton. -
Egyptian Brown Stone Fish Amulet
Ptolemaic Period, circa 332-30 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Plano-convex in section with eye, mouth and scale detailing. 1.76 grams, 19 mm
Ex Chris Belton Artefacts, 1980s.
