Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace

Modelled in the round depicted in a seated pose with bold sidelock reaching to the shoulder; kilt to the thighs, D-shaped base beneath the feet, socket to the middle of the back; provided with a custom-made display stand. 146 grams, 12.2 cm (202 grams total, 13.7 cm including stand)



with Max Hagemann, prior 1964. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Harpocrates is the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which translates as 'Horus the Child', referring to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris.

Multi-stranded designer necklace composed of beads of mainly annular and cylindrical types. 26 grams, 76 cm



Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F.A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

For thousands of years, artisans in Egypt created vibrant ceramics to echo the beauty of rare jewels. These ornaments were created with almost every material, colour, and texture imaginable and they come from across Egypt and beyond: vibrant blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glossy black obsidian from Turkey, and aqua-green turquoise from the Sinai. They were worn in life and, after death, they served as precious ornamentation for mummies.

An exquisitely modelled figure of a seated ibis on a trapezoidal-shaped plinth, with its beak resting on the slender feather of Maat; light turquoise glaze for the body, plinth, and feather; blue glaze for the tail feathers, feet and neck; head absent. 3.54 grams, 31 mm



with Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 3 October 2000, no.413. Private collection, Europe. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The ibis was considered sacred to the god Thoth. It is likely that the popularity of amulets depicting an ibis resting its beak on the feather of Maat in the funerary sphere is connected to Thoth's role as the recorder of the final judgment of the deceased by the divine tribunal. This tribunal determined if the deceased had lived a virtuous life and could enter the Underworld. This was visually represented by the deceased's heart placed on scales with the feather of Maat; if the heart and feather balanced, eternity was assured.