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LOT 0513
Egyptian Hardstone Heart Scarab
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (16.6 grams, 33 mm).
With stylised geometric ribbed carapace and underside.
ProvenanceFrom an early 20th century collection.
Ex London, UK, gallery.
From a private UK collection
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Tinius, I., Altägypten in Braunschweig. Die Sammlungen des Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museums und des Städtischen Museums, Wiesbaden, 2011, 179, no. 356, for a scarab with similar body modelling.
FootnotesThe scarab amulet was one of ancient Egypt’s most widespread symbols, signifying rebirth, transformation, and protection. Modelled on the dung beetle associated with the sun god Khepri—believed to roll the sun across the sky—it symbolised the cycle of life and renewal. Widely used from the early Middle Kingdom onwards, scarabs served as funerary amulets (as here), personal charms, and seals, often inscribed with prayers or names. They reflect both spiritual beliefs and daily life in ancient Egypt.
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LOT 0513
Egyptian Hardstone Heart Scarab
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Mummy Shroud Section with Hieratic Text
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 480-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
A section of woven linen textile featuring lines of neat hieratic text in black. 5.61 grams, 16 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
From the fifth century B.C., mummy wrappings for the affluent frequently display lines of hieratic script—a cursive variant of Egyptian hieroglyphs used for both daily and religious writings. These often include excerpts from funerary texts like the Book of the Dead, along with prayers and invocations designed to safeguard and guide the deceased in the afterlife. These texts, sometimes accompanied by vignettes, were inscribed directly on the linen strips before or during the mummification process. Some of these bandages could be remarkably long; one example from Brussels, measuring only 6.2 cm in width, spans an incredible 26 metres. -
Egyptian Faience Amulet Collection
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Comprising: an amuletic bead consisting of a row of seven Taweret figures on a rectangular base, pierced longitudinally; a seated ibis before a diminutive figure of Maat on a tongue-shaped base; a cippus amulet composed of the figure of Pataikos standing on two crocodiles, with two hawks perched on his shoulders, a scarab on his head, flanked by the figures of Isis and Nephthys, and on the back, a winged goddess standing on the crocodiles' tails. 6.5 grams total, 16-30 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
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Very Large Phoenician Stone Scarab with Hieroglyphics
8th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Plano-convex in section with segmented carapace and longitudinal piercing; underside with dense eight-line hieroglyphic text. 209 grams, 68 mm
Private collection, Switzerland, circa 1980. Acquired in 1994. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12850-241676. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
