Egyptian Predynastic Flint Pocket Knife

Rectangular foil panel featuring a repoussé motif of a bird with wings spread in an arc, with a sun-disc on its head, and claws clutching each a shen ring; honeycomb detailing on the wings and body. 1.03 grams, 40 x 31 mm



UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK.

D-shaped in plan with carved facial detailing, thick nose and full lips; painted bands to the brow, pierced in three places for attachment. 1.04 kg, 30 cm



Swiss private collection, Zurich, assembled in the 1950s. Private collection. Acquired on the Zurich art market in 2013. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12847-241680.

The cartonnage mask from the Ptolemaic Period (305-30 BC) was a funerary covering made of wood or layers of papyrus/linen and plaster, modelled and painted, which covered the face of the mummy, often gilded, decorated with coloured glass and stones, and depicted the deceased with an idealized face and golden skin to protect him and guarantee him rebirth as a deity in the afterlife, combining Egyptian tradition with Graeco-Roman influences.

Standing falcon-headed deity with eyes inlaid in gold, wearing the traditional shendyt kilt, a tripartite wig topped by the double crown (pa-sekhemty) fronted by a uraeus, as worn by Egyptian pharaohs, and a wesekh collar; the figure depicted striding forward, with the position of the left arm and drilled hand indicating that it originally held the shaft of a sceptre or a weapon; the right hand also drilled to hold an attribute; the rectangular base featuring a low-relief depiction of an oryx beneath the god’s feet, the four sides of the base bear a line of hieroglyphic invocation giving the name of the deity represented by the statuette and those of the dedicator and his family; two tenons on underside for attachment; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.1 kg total, 23 cm high including stand



with Sakae Art Gallery, Nagoya, Japan, 1981. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Alberto Pollastrini. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13161-248074.

The hieroglyphic inscription surrounding the base is worn and difficult to interpret. Based on the formulas preserved on similar statuettes, a tentative interpretation of its meaning can be proposed. The text begins with the customary formula ḏd mdw, meaning “words to be spoken,” followed by the hieroglyph of a falcon, indicating that the deity addressed is Horus. The following signs are unclear, making it hard to identify which specific form of Horus is meant, possibly Horus of Hebenu or Horus the Elder. The formula continues with a plea for the god to grant the dedicator life, prosperity, health, longevity, and a good old age. The inscription ends with the name of the offerer: “Pa-iu, son of Pa-di-Aset; his mother Ta-heret; and his wife Aset, justified.”