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LOT 0017
Egyptian Mummy Shroud Section with Hieratic Text
LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 480-30 B.C.
6 1/4 in. (5.61 grams, 16 cm).
A section of woven linen textile featuring 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. De Caluwe, A., Un "Livre des Morts" sur bandelette de momie, Brussels, 1991, for a discussion of the longest known inscribed 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 Stone Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Incised detailing to the carapace and legs, pierced longitudinally; underside with three deities (possibly Amun-Ra, flanked by figures of Re). 3.74 grams, 20 mm
From the Gustave Mustaki collection before 1948. Ex London, UK, gallery. From a private UK collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Egyptian Carnelian Fly Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Carved with ribbed body and eye detailing; drilled through the body for suspension. 0.34 grams, 10 mm
Ex London, UK, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Small fly amulets first appeared in burials during the Naqada II Period, c. 3200 B.C. These amulets grew in popularity and the materials used to make them expanded during the New Kingdom. They are crafted from a variety of materials such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst, faience, and bone. These amulets were thought to protect against insect bites and to ward off troublesome flying creatures through apotropaic magic. Some believe they may have even been intended to symbolise the fly’s fecundity. Additionally, pharaohs would bestow gold fly-shaped pendants as military awards to honour the bravery and fly-like persistence of soldiers in battle. -
Large Egyptian Steatite Scarab
Second Intermediate Period–New Kingdom, circa 1600-1069 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Modelled body of a beetle with detailed carapace and legs; the underside carved with a border enclosing the depictions of an advancing lion, a crocodile below, with a fish behind, and a nefer sign in front. 13.3 grams, 34 mm
From 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.
It is believed that the lion symbolised the king and his strength in overcoming dangerous forces.
