Egyptian Inlaid Mummy Eye

In white linen and blue wool, tapestry work (S-twist), showing a flying putto with a horse, borders with meander decorations. 3.84 grams total, 67-74 mm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The tabula, or tablion, was a square embroidery used to decorate tunics or mantles.

Comprising a tablion and an orbiculus featuring floral and geometric decoration in black and red wool (Z-twist); an orbiculus with floral and geometric decoration in yellow, brown, red, and black wool; and a heart-shaped bud in green, red, and yellow wool featuring a human figure at the centre. 11.1 grams total, 8.1-12.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The fragments are decorative parts of tunics. These are fabrics of great decorative finesse, with some elements displaying an unusual and extremely well-preserved colour palette.

Ellipsoid in plan with an impressed cartouche for 'Tutankhamun, ruler of Hermonthis'. 6.5 grams, 29 mm



Acquired Caledonian market, November 1958, for 2 shillings and sixpence. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s. Accompanied by an old handwritten information card by Peter Clayton, collection no.50.

Moulds like this were often used to produce faience ring bezels (cf. Seyfried, F. (ed.), In the Light of Amarna: 100 Years of the Nefertiti Discovery, Berlin, 2012, p. 100, fig. 2, for an example of a similar mould and a faience ring bezel for Akhenaten). Hermonthis, also known as Armant, was called ı͗wnu-šmꜤw by the ancient Egyptians and regarded as the southern counterpart to the solar temple complex at Heliopolis.