Egyptian Pre-Dynastic Stone Frog

The lotiform cup modelled as an open lotus flower with incised petal detailing to the outer face, short stem and flared foot; some restoration. 205 grams, 12.1 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12937-243177.

Faience chalices shaped like the flowers of the white lotus (Nymphaea albicans) first appeared in the 18th Dynasty and are believed to be drinking vessels.

Wearing daily dress and carrying agricultural implements, with dark blue details including his short wig with side-lock, designating him as a Sem-priest of Ptah at Memphis, the text on the kilt naming him as 'Sem-priest and King's son Khaemwaset'; with round-topped back support, the reverse with two columns of hieroglyphs with part of the shabti formula: "He says: O shabti, if one counts, if one is reckoned to do all the works that are to be done there in the God’s land—now indeed obstacles are implanted therewith—as a man at his duties, ‘Here I am,’ you shall say when you are counted off to cultivate the fields, transport by boat the sand of the east to the west and vice versa; ‘Here I am,’ you shall say". 284 grams, 15.1 cm



With Barakat, Beverly Hills: reputed to be from the Omar Pasha Sultan collection, (1806-1871) but unpublished in the 1929 catalogue of the collection, nor in Aubert's 1976 article on the shabtis in the collection. Bonhams, London, 1 May 2013, no.282. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages. 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.12938-243536.

Prince Khaemwaset was the fourth-ranked son of Ramesses II and the second born to Queen Isetnofret. More is known about Khaemwaset than any other son of Ramesses II, attested by over 150 objects, ranging from statues to temple reliefs. He is traditionally regarded as the “first Egyptologist” for his restoration of monuments belonging to earlier kings, including the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara. Recent reassessment, however, suggests that some of these activities involved dismantling parts of ancient structures for reuse in his father’s temple constructions.

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 67 from Vol.II of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entitled Thèbes. Hypogées. Manuscrit sur papyrus. 233 grams, 110 x 67 cm



From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The papyrus manuscript was recovered from an underground tomb chamber (hypogeum). The vignette in this scene depicts the weighing of the deceased's heart on scales before Osiris's tribunal. If the heart (on the left) did not balance with Maat (on the right), it would be devoured by Ammut, the fearsome creature seated on a shrine before Osiris.