Loading, please wait...
LOT 0456
Egyptian Gold Cobra Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
1/2 in. (0.17 grams, 11 mm).
Depicting a rearing cobra with incised detailing and a suspension loop behind the head.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of the late Mrs Belinda Ellison, a long time member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, c.1940-2020.
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.
-
Egyptian Hardstone Double Plume Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Carved with integral ribbed loop to the reverse; unfinished. 4.4 grams, 31 mm
with Hotel des Ventes, Drouot, Paris, France. From the collection of Mr H. Naudy, Paris, France. Acquired at between 2004-2010. Property of a French collector.
This ancient amulet represents two ostrich feathers or shuty. Interestingly, these feathers were also present on the Atef crown of Osiris, the god of the afterlife and the dead. This suggests the amulet was believed to imbue the wearer with Osiris's divine power and protection. -
Gold Pendant with Agate Scaraboid
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Banded agate scaraboid with openwork gold frame, tubular suspension loop, triangular clusters of granules to the edge; Phoenician or Achaemenid. 4.20 grams, 21 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Egyptian Carnelian Fly Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Formed as a fly with long triangular wings and domed eyes. 0.42 grams, 12 mm
From an early 20th century collection.
Fly amulets first appeared in burials as early as c. 3200 B.C., but their popularity expanded during the New Kingdom. They were made from various materials such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst, faience, and bone. Fly amulets were thought to protect against insect bites and to ward off troublesome flying creatures through apotropaic magic. They may also have even been intended to symbolise the fly’s fecundity. Pharaohs would bestow gold fly-shaped pendants as military awards to honour the bravery and fly-like persistence of soldiers in battle.
