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LOT 0506
Egyptian Lapis Lazuli Falcon-Head Scarab
LATE PERIOD, 664-343 B.C.
1 in. (6.9 grams, 25 mm).
A lapis lazuli amuletic scarab with the falcon head of Ra with lappet headdress and broad collar; ribbed loop to the underside for suspension
ProvenanceUK art market, prior 2000.
English private collection.
Cf. Ben-Tor, D., The Scarab: A Reflection of Ancient Egypt, Jerusalem, 1993, p.78, nos. 16, 17, for two similar lapis lazuli examples.
FootnotesThis scarab was probably attached to the mummy, and its falcon head symbolising the sun-god Ra served to emphasise the solar aspect of the amulet, and give added potency to its regenerative power.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Egyptian Bronze Goddess Bastet as Seated Cat
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
A bronze figure of the cat goddess Bastet, squatting poised and alert with her tail wrapped close to right side of her body, seated on a tongue-shaped base, short lug below; accompanied by a custom-made display base. 137 grams total, 10 cm high including stand
Acquired 1980s. Private collection of L.H., Staffordshire, UK. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
Bastet was a powerful goddess of Lower Egypt, one who was protective and could bring about great prosperity. Cat statuettes were among some of the most common zoomorphic dedications of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. Small statuettes like this one would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Sometimes larger hollow examples held a cat mummy inside. -
Egyptian Anubis Staff Terminal
1st century B.C.- 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
A bronze staff or sceptre terminal formed as a priest of Anubis with jackal's head and human body, standing and wearing a tightly-draped toga with right hand extended in a fist; square base and socket to the underside. 223 grams, 12.7 cm high
Private collection, since 1989. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11604-199678.
Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god of the dead - represented in jackal form or in the form of a jackal-headed man - and one of ancient Egypt's most iconic deities. Originally god of the underworld, he was eventually associated more specifically with the embalming process and funerary rites. His fur was generally depicted as black owing to the association of that colour with fertility and beliefs regarding rebirth in the afterlife. -
Egyptian Glass Bangle Fragment Group
Graeco-Roman Period, 332 B.C.-323 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
A mixed group of glass bangle fragments including polychrome and decoratively twisted examples; iridescence to the surfaces of most. 110 grams total, 16-82 mm
Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014.
