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_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Gold God Bastet Cat Amulet")
_200x200.jpg "Egyptian Gold God Bastet Cat Amulet")
.jpg "Egyptian Gold God Bastet Cat Amulet")
LOT 0031
Egyptian Gold God Bastet Cat Amulet
LATE NEW KINGDOM, 1070-900 B.C.
1/4 in. (0.52 grams, 8 mm).
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back.
ProvenanceFrom an early 20th century French collection.
LiteratureCf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, item 29(c).
FootnotesThe goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat,
decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her
counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru' which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis and at Saqqara and Memphis.
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Egyptian Bronze Kneeling Priest Statuette
Late Period, circa 664–332 B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
The male figure of a kneeling supplicant with back pillar inscribed with hieroglyphic text: 'Neith gives life [to] ...'. 54 grams total, 76 mm including stand
Private collection S., Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, acquired in the first half of the 20th century. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate number S00140657, dated 23 October 2018.
This figure was likely attached to a separately cast base and positioned kneeling before a larger figure of the goddess Neith. Such objects were donated to temples to secure the god or goddess's protection for the donor, represented by the kneeling figure. -
Very Large Egyptian Faience Quadruple Eye of Horus Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Olive-green glazed composition plaque with transverse piercing comprising four addorsed wedjat motifs with black detailing. 32.3 grams, 64 mm
From the private collection of Julian Bird, London, UK. Ex Den of Antiquity, Cambridgeshire, UK. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by a previous dealer's certificate of authenticity. -
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Egyptian Painted Wooden Model of a Cow Giving Birth, Together with Two Figures
Middle Kingdom, 11th-12th Dynasty, 2023-1862 B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
Composed of three figures: a standing cow or other quadruped giving birth to its young, its head, neck and forelegs emerging from the mother's rear, both with a black and white speckled coat; a standing male figure with articulated arms and pierced hands, wearing a kilt and cropped wig and with stylised facial detailing; a kneeling figure also with articulated arms, open-palm hands, wearing a kilt and cropped wig, stylised facial features; extensive remains of polychrome pigment. 111 grams total, 9.5-16 cm
From an early 20th century Home Counties collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11597-199209.
Such models would have been deposited in tombs; the purpose of such a scene was probably to evoke the season of spring, when calves were born, and the floodplain where farmers lived and raised their livestock.
