Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0021
Egyptian Gold Ring with Agate Bull
NEW KINGDOM, 1550-1292 B.C.
1 in. (4.71 grams, 27.98 mm overall, 19.07 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)).
Comprising a round-section swivel ring set with a carved Apis bull depicted recumbent with its head turned to right.
Provenance
Private collection, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12939-245988.
Literature
For similar see Musée du Louvre, Paris: AF 11092 and N 2090; The British Museum: 1947,1011.2 and 1918,0411.15; Metropolitan Museum of Art: 30.8.418, and the Fitzwilliam Museum: E.GA.21.1947.
Footnotes
The Apis bull was a sacred animal in ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as a living manifestation of the god Ptah and later associated with Osiris and Ra. Regarded as an intermediary between the gods and humanity, the Apis bull was chosen based on specific physical characteristics, such as a black coat with unique white markings. Once identified, it was housed in a grand temple in Memphis, where it was treated with great reverence, adorned with jewellery, and participated in important religious ceremonies. Upon its death, the bull underwent elaborate mummification and burial rituals, symbolising its transition to the afterlife and its continued divine role. The cult of the Apis bull highlights the Egyptians’ deep connection to animals as symbols of divine power and their belief in the interconnectedness of the mortal and spiritual worlds.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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 0021
Egyptian Gold Ring with Agate Bull
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000€6,960 - 9,280 (for guidance only)$8,100 - 10,800 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Egyptian Blue Faience Bastet Cat Amulet
New Kingdom, circa 1550-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 3.25 grams, 28 mm
Ex London gallery and Belinda Elliston, a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, 1940s onwards.
In ancient Egypt, the cat was venerated as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose principal cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk practice, their veneration as part of formal cults spread across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely linked to lion-headed goddesses like Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became associated with solar imagery: the Book of the Dead portrays the sun god as a Great Cat vanquishing Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also embody the Eye of the Sun or, more often in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were frequently dedicated as votive offerings, and some of their feline-shaped coffins were adorned with finely crafted bronze heads to enhance their divine likeness. -
Egyptian Faience Nefertem Statuette with Hieroglyphs
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Presented in a striding pose with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides; wearing his emblem, the lotus-flower headdress from which two plumes emerge, and a menat on each side; dorsal pillar with hieroglyphs, beginning with the incantation: "Words spoken by Nefertum, son of Sekhmet...." 42.8 grams, 11.6 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
Nefertum is usually depicted as a young man wearing a headdress with a lotus flower or a crown featuring the flower. The god is often linked to beauty, healing, and the lotus flower, with his cult connected to the royal family and the cycle of rebirth. Nefertum’s imagery and symbolism associate him with themes of creation, renewal, and the sun; he symbolises the first sunlight and the pleasant scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, emerging from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water lily. -
Egyptian Faience Scarab with Hieroglyphs
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Modelled as a scarab resting on a textured base with a tubular extension behind and before the head forming part of the piercing, the underside features two rearing cobras atop neb signs flanking a nefer sign, with a large nwb sign (meaning 'gold') below. 2.66 grams, 18 mm
From the property of a London, UK, gentleman, 1970-2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.