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LOT 0009
Egyptian Mummy Shroud Section with Hieratic Text
LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 480-30 B.C.
12 5/8 in. (8 grams, 32 cm).
A rectangular section of woven linen textile featuring four lines of neat hieratic text in black.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. A. De Caluwe, A., Un "Livre des Morts" sur bandelette de momie, Brussels, 1991, for a discussion of the longest known mummy bandage.
FootnotesFrom the fifth century B.C., mummy wrappings for the affluent frequently display lines of hieratic script—a cursive variant of Egyptian hieroglyphs used for both daily and religious writings. These often include excerpts from funerary texts like the Book of the Dead, along with prayers and invocations designed to safeguard and guide the deceased in the afterlife. These texts, sometimes accompanied by vignettes, were inscribed directly on the linen strips before or during the mummification process. Some of these bandages could be remarkably long; one example from Brussels, measuring only 6.2 cm in width, spans an incredible 26 metres.
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 Silver Fly Amulet
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
With detailing to wings and eyes, loop for suspension above the head. 0.89 grams, 20 mm
From an early 20th century collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Egyptian Green Glazed Faience Figure of Somtous
Late Period, circa 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Modelled in the round, the nude seated figure of the child Somtous, with one hand to his lips and a prominent sidelock, emerging from a lotus flower; mounted on a custom-made stand. 39.7 grams total, 68 mm including stand
with Noriuchi Horiuchi, Tokyo, Japan. Private collection, London, UK, acquired from the above in 1993. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The earliest attestations of the cult of Somtous, known as Sematawy in ancient Egyptian, date back to the New Kingdom, although it became particularly popular during the Late Period. Associated with Horus (Horsomtous), the symbol of the child emerging from the lotus represented the (re)birth of the sun god. Thus, Somtous was regarded as a life-giving amuletic symbol, sometimes even referred to as 'Sematawy the child who gives life.' -
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Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Carved in the round, the nude standing figure of the god sporting a solar disc and uraeus headdress, wearing a sidelock, and holding a lotus flower, accompanied by an integral dorsal pillar and base; one arm missing. 15.26 grams, 78 mm
Ex Thomas collection, UK, 1980s-1990s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and 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’. This designation refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. His nudity represents youth and purity. The sun disc and lotus flower symbolises divine rebirth and solar renewal. The sun disc connects him to Ra and the daily cycle of rebirth, while the lotus—opening with the sunrise—emphasises creation and emergence from chaos. Together, these elements express triumph over death and the promise of eternal life.
