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Details
LOT 0416
Egyptian Jasper Lion-Headed Cobra Amulet in Gold Frame
NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1550-1070 B.C.
3/4 in. (2 grams, 18 mm).
The S-curved body resting on a tongue-shaped based, detailed hood, and delicate details to the head of a lioness; wrapped in a gold frame with suspension loop.
Provenance
Private collection of Mr K.A.
Private collection, Europe, 26 June 2009.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12590-232325.
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.
Literature
Cf. Reisner, G.A., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Nos.12528-13595, Vol. II, Amulets, Cairo, 1958, p.115, (no. CG13434) and pl.XVII, for a similar example in opaque red glass.
Footnotes
This amulet likely represents a goddess, either Sekhmet or Wadjet. Sekhmet is typically depicted as a lioness or lion-headed woman, while Wadjet appears in the form of a cobra. The lion-headed cobra form can be an allusion to the uraeus, worn on the crowns of royalty and deities for protection.
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LOT 0416
Egyptian Jasper Lion-Headed Cobra Amulet in Gold Frame
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,895
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The scarab, which represented the dung beetle, was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt for approximately two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period when it gradually fell out of favour. The popularity of scarabs extended beyond the borders of Egypt, and they were also distributed and produced in other regions, such as Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri, derived from the verb 'to come into existence', and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri, who was self-engendered. The ancient Egyptians mistakenly believed that the young beetle emerging from the dung ball was the result of an act of self-creation.
