Egyptian Gold Poppy Amulet

Modelled in the round in a crouching pose on a rectangular base with an attachment peg. 145 grams, 73 mm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

This figure most likely comes from a shrew coffin or votive statuette. The dwarf shrew (Crocidura nana) and Flower’s shrew (Crocidura floweri) were among many animal species buried in dedicated cemeteries across various parts of Egypt. Ironically, these tiny creatures symbolised Horus in his raptor-headed form — a figure who, in reality, would have preyed upon them. Shrews were associated with Khenty-irty, the “seeing-and-blind god,” due to their ability to navigate darkness. It may be possible to read the shrew’s symbolism as that of seeking light in darkness, representing the Egyptian belief in the deceased’s journey through the hours of the night before rebirth at dawn. Radiographic analysis of a bundle containing about twenty-one shrews shows that they were dried whole, with no evisceration, preserved by being ‘pickled’ in natron.

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 54 from Vol.I of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Edfou. (Apollinopolis magna. Coupe longitudinale du grand temple. 216 grams, 105.5 x 69.5 cm



From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The temple at Edfu in Upper Egypt is dedicated to Horus and was built during the Ptolemaic Period. It remains one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt.

Comprising a slender U-shaped body with beaded border, the sides with four pairs of piercings to accept separate crossbars, an applied goat resting atop the body. 73.7 grams, 10.8 cm



Ex Paul Munro-Walker, Bournemouth, Hampshire, UK, 1980s. From a UK collection since before 1990.

When the sistrum was shaken, copper or bronze discs on its crossbars would rattle against each other, creating a clashing sound. The ancient Egyptian name for the sistrum, sesheshet, is onomatopoeic and mimics this sound.