Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0010
Egyptian Ovoid Alabaster Jar
EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3100-2900 B.C.
4 1/2 in. (517 grams, 11.5 cm high).
With rounded lip, and oval body slightly tapering to a flat base.
Provenance
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.
Literature
Cf. Guidotti, M.C., Vasi dall’epoca protodinastica al Nuovo Regno, Museo Egizio di Firenze, Rome, 1991, p.92, no.48, for a similar vessel.
Footnotes
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.
VETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0010
Egyptian Ovoid Alabaster Jar
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Egyptian Wooden Head of an Ibis
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Naturalistically carved ibis head from a composite statuette, with carefully detailed beak and eyes; traces of gesso and gilding remain; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 116 grams total, 18.5 cm wide
American private collection, New York, acquired in London before 2000.
The ibis was sacred to the god Thoth, who was revered for his association with knowledge, writing, and healing. The god also acted as the recorder of the final judgment, which determined whether the deceased had lived a life of virtue. Vast numbers of ibises were mummified in religious centres such as Saqqara and Tuna el-Gebel, where they were offerings to the god and interred in extensive catacombs. -
Phoenician Bronze Figure
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
Modelled in the round with tall conical cap, pinched face, flat discoid upper body and single-piece legs, ovoid foot; lightly punched eyes, navel and nipples, horseshoe punch-detailing to edges; mounted on a display stand. 56 grams total, 10.3 cm including stand
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
This figurine bears a resemblance to other simply crafted figurines found in temple deposits at Byblos and other Phoenician sites. The tall conical cap seen on many of these figurines is reminiscent of the hedjet Egyptian crown, underscoring the robust cultural and commercial ties between the Levant and Egypt. -
Egyptian Silver Bastet Cat Goddess
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £700 - 900 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Modelled seated on an oblong base; accompanied by a custom-made display base. 1.27 grams, 13 mm high (6.02 grams total, 33 mm including stand)
Ex Mrs Zimmermann Koutoulakis, December 1977. Ex R. Liechti (1934-2010) Geneva, Switzerland, collection between 1950-1990s.
Bastet was primarily a goddess of fertility, but she also represented festivities and intoxication, which formed part of the temple celebrations of her cult.
