LOT 0001

Egyptian Large Canopic Jar Lid

SAITE PERIOD, 26TH DYNASTY, 664-525 BC

7 1/4" (5.38 kg, 18.5cm).

A large limestone canopic jar lid of human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver, wearing bag wig and false beard; painted details to the eyes, eyebrow and beard; socket to the base for insertion into jar.

From an important London collection; previously in an old collection formed before 1980.

This lot is published at the front of section in the printed catalogue.

The Saite Period was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC. The dynasty's reign (664–525 BC) is named after the city of Sais, where its pharaohs had their capital, and marks the beginning of the Late Period of ancient Egypt.The Saite pharaohs deliberately adopted much from the culture of earlier periods, particularly the Old Kingdom, as the model for their own.

Under Saite rule, Egypt grew from a vassal of Assyria to an independent ally. There were even echoes of the bygone might of Egypt’s New Kingdom in Saite military campaigns into Asia Minor and Nubia. In pursuit of these goals, however, the Saite pharaohs had to rely on foreign mercenaries—Carian (from southwestern Asia Minor, modern Turkey), Phoenician, and Greek—as well as Egyptian soldiers. These different ethnic groups lived in their own quarters of the capital city. The Greeks were also allowed to establish a trading settlement at Naukratis in the western Delta. This served as a conduit for cultural influences traveling from Egypt to Greece.