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LOT 0017
Egyptian Glazed Faience New Year Flask with Baboons
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
6 1/4 in. (263 grams, 16 cm).
Lentoid body with segmented collars and blue detailing around the shoulders, neck with papyrus stalk detailing and a domed rim; addorsed stylised baboons flanking the neck.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market, 1990s.
Private collection, New York, USA.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13350-255452.
Cf. Wahby, A., et al, 'Eight New Year’s flasks from Tell Tebilla,' Prague Egyptological Studies XXX/2023, p. 32, no. 8, for a flask excavated near Mendes (in Lower Egypt) with similar neck and body decoration.
FootnotesThe concept of renewal is expressed through the form, decoration, and inscriptions of this type of flask. Their rounded bodies evoke the sun disc, symbolising daily rebirth, while the squatting baboons flanking the mouth allude to those that greeted the rising sun each morning. The blue collar decoration, including floral motifs, as seen here, symbolises the renewal of the agricultural cycle through the annual Nile inundation. The papyrus-capital spout reinforces this theme of regeneration. Although traditionally dated exclusively to the 26th Dynasty, examples recovered from Late Period and early Ptolemaic contexts indicate that their popularity actually endured for several centuries.
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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LOT 0017
Egyptian Glazed Faience New Year Flask with Baboons
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
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6th-5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Tongue-shaped fragment depicting a figure with almond-shaped eyes and wearing a headdress. 65 grams, 58 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Egyptian Mixed Faience Amulet Collection
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
Comprising: a face bead; two rectangular wedjat-eye beads with black detailing; an amulet depicting the Deshret crown of Lower Egypt; two seated baboon amulets; an amulet of a standing figure, possibly Sekhmet; a scaraboid with a small raised head. 4.93 grams total, 10-20 mm
From a 20th century UK collection. -
Egyptian Rock Crystal Locust Pendant
New Kingdom, circa 1400–1292 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Carved in the round with closed wings and a slightly curving body, pierced through the body for suspension. 3.7 grams, 26 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
The depiction somewhat resembles a cicada, although this would be very rare in ancient Egyptian plastic arts. The grasshopper and the locust were known in Egyptian as sꜣnḥm or snḥm. Although the insect was often depicted in Old Kingdom tomb scenes, it appeared in various other forms of visual art, such as amulets, cosmetic vessels, and beads, only during the New Kingdom, when it served as a symbol of regeneration.
