Egyptian Lapis Lazuli Shabti Amulet

Ovoid in profile with flared rim to the mouth. 179 grams, 78 mm



Ex Belinda Elliston collection, a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, 1940s onwards.

Colourful, almost rectangular section of a wall fragment, with a slightly dished face, low-relief moulding with pigment, and 'Belzonis T[om]b' written at the top; accompanied by an old collector's label suggesting the likely findspot and other details. 15.3 grams, 44 mm



With a late 19th-early 20th century handwritten ticket attached. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

The Italian explorer and antiquarian Giovanni Battista Belzoni uncovered the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) on October 16, 1817. This monumental tomb, with beautifully decorated walls, extended almost 140 metres underground through a series of descending corridors and chambers. In 1821, Belzoni opened a groundbreaking exhibition at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, presenting a full-scale replica of the tomb. The paid public exhibition sparked massive 19th-century "Egyptomania" and introduced European audiences to ancient Egyptian art. Such was the renown of his discovery that it was often referred to as 'Belzoni's Tomb'.

Including a grotesque mask, a squatting figure and a scorpion. 5.32 grams total, 14-16 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.