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LOT 0014
Egyptian Necklace with Fly Beads
NEW KINGDOM, 18TH DYNASTY, 1550-1350 B.C. AND LATER
19 in. (10.45 grams, 48.5 cm long).
Group of restrung annular turquoise beads with gilt-metal interstitial collars and carnelian fly amulets; S-hook and eye closure; with custom display box.
ProvenanceEx Swiss collection, kept in London since the 1980s.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated catalogue page.
Cf. Andrews, C., Ancient Egyptian Jewellery, London, 1990, 174 no. 160a, for a similar necklace with gold flies.
FootnotesSince Egyptian artists often depicted fly whisks in the hands of pharaohs and high officials, one might assume that flies were simply a nuisance. However, the Egyptians held flies in high regard due to their quick speed, reactions, and persistence. 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, including gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst, faience, and bone. Fly amulets were believed to protect against insect bites and to ward off troublesome airborne 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.
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Egyptian Bronze Statue of a Kneeling Priest
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £250 - 350 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £139
Kneeling on a rectangular platform with a wide apron covering his thighs, clean-shaven head and hands raised in adoration; tang on the underside for attachment; mounted on a display stand. 41 grams total, statue: 30 mm high
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
Priest figurines like this were commonly placed before a larger figurine of a deity, both attached to a base, e.g., Schulz, R., Seidel, M., Egyptian Art. The Walters Art Museum, London, 2009, for a kneeling priest before a standing figure of Anubis. -
Egyptian Bronze Ring with Hieroglyphic Motto
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
With slim loop and cartouche-shaped bezel inscribed with hieroglyphs ı͗mn-sꜢ-nb.s, 'Amun lord (of) her protection'. 4.30 grams, 21.48 mm overall, 14.60 mm internal diameter (approximate size British G, USA 3 1/4, Europe 4.92, Japan 4)
From an early 20th century collection. -
Egyptian Faience Thoth and Horus in a Boat
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Modelled in the round, comprising a small barque with a seated baboon and a falcon, possibly Thoth and Horus, with a slot to the underside. 35.9 grams, 64 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
In Egyptian mythology, Thoth restored the eye of Horus, suggesting that this may be the theme of the figurine's composition. Alternatively, the composition may be a condensed depiction of the funerary vignette, which shows the falcon form of the sun god Re in his solar barque flanked by baboons in an attitude of praise. The slot in the underside suggests it was once attached to a separate base.
