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LOT 0012
Egyptian Limestone Relief with Hieroglyphic List of Funerary Offerings
OLD KINGDOM, CIRCA 2513-2190 B.C.
14 1/2 in. (10.85 kg, 37 cm high).
Dressed panel with reserved rectangular border to upper edge with ochre and terracotta pigment; left edge with reserved rectangle and column of hieroglyphs picked out with pigment; the left edge with a reserved rectangle and column of hieroglyphs picked out with pigment giving the titles of the deceased: ı͗ry-pꜤt ḥꜢty-Ꜥ nb, 'member of the elite, foremost of action, and lord'; to the right, a tabulated list of offerings with the quantities for each indicated beneath.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid-1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12199-222171.
See Fluck, C. & Helmecke, G., Burial Practice, in Fluck et al., Egypt: Faith After the Pharaohs, London, 2015, for discussion; cf. Murray, M.A., Saqqara Mastabas Part I, ERA 10, London, 1904, pl.XXIX, for a similar arrangement of a vertical column of inscription with larger hieroglyphs in the left frame next to the offering list in the 5th Dynasty tomb of User-netjer.
FootnotesThe majority of preserved Old Kingdom offerings lists come from tombs at Saqqara or other parts of the Memphite necropolis and were intended to ensure that the deceased would be sustainably provided for eternally. During the 4th Dynasty, around 165 different offerings could be listed for the deceased, but by the 5th Dynasty, almost half of these had disappeared while some new ones were added. Even then, these lists could include around a hundred offerings. Although non-consumable items such as eye paint and cloth are sometimes listed, most offerings are different kinds of food, such as bread, wine, grain, and fruit.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0012
Egyptian Limestone Relief with Hieroglyphic List of Funerary Offerings
Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,950
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Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Panel with Four Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Restrung as an openwork panel with a winged scarab above and the Four Sons of Horus below as two opposing pairs; restrung with some later beads. 34.6 grams, 15 cm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
These elements would have been placed on the chest and body below a beadwork mummy mask. Winged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and believed to symbolise the deceased's rebirth and regeneration. The Four Sons of Horus protected the deceased's internal organs. Here, on the left, is the erect-eared jackal-headed Duamutef who protects the stomach, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who protects the intestines, then the human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver and, finally, the baboon-headed Hapy on the right, protector of the lungs. -
Egyptian Blue Glazed Scarab of Thutmose III
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, circa 1504-1452 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
With detailed carapace, legs and mouth; hieroglyphs to the underside including cartouche of Thutmose III. 2.74 grams, 17.13 mm
From an old Suffolk, UK, collection. Acquired in the UK before 1980. From the personal collection of Derek Rogers, Suffolk, UK.
Thutmose III was a renowned warrior king widely revered even centuries after his reign. -
Egyptian Alabaster Kohl Jars
New Kingdom, circa 1550-1070 B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £556
The larger with squat profile, slight flare to the foot, carinated shoulder and small rounded rim; the smaller with wide flat rim, round shoulder and body tapering to a flat base. 310 grams total, 43-61 mm high
Mary Stout Shaw (1880-1962); thence by direct descent to the present owner. Accompanied by a copy of a 1976 family photo featuring some of the collection on display, the larger kohl jar is clearly visible on a 1976 family photo. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12197-220887.
Mary Kilgour Stone was born in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio. On 25 November 1903, she married Percy Wyfold Stout from Gloucester (DSO, OBE, 1875-1937), who had moved to Cairo after an international rugby career. After fighting in the First World War, Percy became the Director of the Egyptian Delta Land Company and the Anglo-American Nile Tourist Company. He and Mary were friends with the famous Major Gayer-Anderson, who worked as a doctor on the company’s cruise boats between 1930 and 1939. Gayer-Anderson tells in his memoir how this allowed him to make frequent trips to Upper Egypt and fulfil his passion for collecting (and dealing in) ancient Egyptian art. In his company, Mary became an enthusiast about all things Egypt and formed an elegant collection of ancient Egyptian alabaster vessels, including the following lots. She was particularly fascinated with the ancient cat goddess Bastet. Therefore, when Gayer-Anderson decided to give his famous ancient bronze cat to the British Museum in 1939, he made sure the donation was in both his name and Mary Stout Shaw’s, as a tribute to their friendship.
