Egyptian Porphyry Disc-Mace

D-shaped in plan with carved facial detailing, thick nose and narrow mouth, with ochre-coloured painted finish; pierced for attachment. 170 grams, 20 cm



with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.

This is the face and front portion of a wig belonging to a mummiform wooden coffin. It was attached using wooden dowels, the holes for which are visible.

An over-life-size head of a pharaoh, likely from a monumental sphinx, wearing the royal nemes headdress with a prominent headband and the remains of a rearing uraeus on the brow with a single coil of the body on either side of the cobra’s hood, its tail extending towards the back of the headdress; the large, almond-shaped eyes prominently outlined, and unlike on some portraits, the cosmetic lines do not extend beyond the outer corner; the fragmentary nose almost spanning the width of the small mouth modelled with straight and somewhat pursed lips; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 45.15 kg, 43 cm



Private collection, Germany, 1975. European collection, 1980s-late 1990s. By descent from the above to the present owner. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12201-218142.

The presence of tool marks around the neck and sides of the head, contrasting the smooth surface of the face and front part of the headdress, suggests that the sculpture is an unfinished piece. The noticeably heavy brow line is a feature of the 30th Dynasty style, which influenced Ptolemaic royal portraiture (cf. Tomoum, N., The Sculptors' Models of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, Cairo, 2006, pl.17, for a finished portrait assigned to the 30th Dynasty). The distinctive features of the head are reminiscent of a granite sphinx head discovered at the Egyptian Delta site of Canopus, now housed in the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. Two additional heads, one also from the Canopus region, exhibit similar traits, hinting that this style may be indicative of the artistic output of this Delta region.

The larger with rounded rim, concave body and flat base, the smaller with cylindrical body and flat disc rim. 1 kg total, 6.4-11.5 cm high



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, the larger kohl jar is clearly visible on a 1976 family photo. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12198-220885.

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.