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LOT 0024
Egyptian Predynastic Stone Frog
4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 1/8 in. (537 grams, 81 mm).
Pyramidal in form with shallow-carved hip and facial detailing.
Provenancewith Artemis Gallery, Munich, Germany, 2001.
Private collection, Europe.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12580-232124.
Cf. Teeter, E. (ed.), Before the Pyramids, The origins of Egyptian Civilization, Chicago, 2011, fig.65, p.211, for a similar stone frog.
FootnotesThe frog had a great role in ancient Egyptian mythology and was connected with the mythology of creation. A number of gods and goddesses were connected with the frog such as Heqet, Ptah, and Heh. The connection with the god Ptah as a god of creation was probably due to the idea that Ptah was the only god who created the world in ancient Egypt through his heart and his tongue. Every work of the god came about through what his heart devised and his tongue commanded. Frogs were often associated with Hekat, deity of birth and fecundity. Amulets of frogs were frequent votive gifts at such Predynastic and Archaic sites at Abydos, Naqada, and Saqqara.
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LOT 0024
Egyptian Predynastic Stone Frog
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£600 (EUR 696; USD 810) ‡+BP*
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Egyptian Alabaster Miniature 'Torpedo' Flask
Middle Kingdom, 2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Ovoid in profile with a pointed base, narrow opening, and hollowed interior. 62.6 grams, 57 mm
From a UK private collection since at least 1946. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman.
Ancient Egyptian cosmetics included volatile essential oils, animal fats, or scented plant resins. The ‘torpedo’ shape of the vessel required it to be positioned horizontally, ensuring the fluid remained in contact with the stopper or seal to prevent it from drying out or leaking. -
Egyptian Funerary Linen Fragment with Hieratic Text from the Book of the Dead for Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet
Graeco-Roman Period, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Bids: 19 | Current Bid: £1,100
Bearing a portion of Chapter 17, a spell written in late hieratic script executed in black ink on woven linen, consistent with funerary bandages of the Graeco-Roman period; the inscription identifies the owner as a woman named Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet, with her mother named Iset-(m-)khebit; as is typical for funerary manuscripts of this period, the father’s name is not recorded. 5.08 grams, 22 cm wide
Found inside an 18th-century Bible and believed to be a souvenir acquired in the 19th century. From the private collection of a North American lady. An academically identified and unpublished fragment, offering potential for further scholarly study and publication. Accompanied by a report in progress dated 28 April 2026 by Holly Lund.
Spell 17 is among the most important and widely transmitted compositions in the Book of the Dead, concerned with cosmology, divine knowledge, and the transformation of the deceased in the afterlife. Even in fragmentary form, such texts provide valuable insight into funerary belief and scribal practice during the later phases of ancient Egyptian religion. This description was prepared using information provided by Dr Ann-Katrin Gill, Academic Assistant at the Egyptological Institute, University of Leipzig, and a separate assessment by Steve Vinson, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. The linen fragment may derive from a nineteenth-century mummy unwrapping, a practise widely attested in this period. -
Egyptian Bone Gaming Counter and Bronze Arrow Tip
Graeco-Roman Period, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Comprising: turned discoid counter with raised tiered rim and central boss, plain reverse with incised 'L · III' legend (numeral '53'); triangular-section arrowhead with low flanges to one face and mounting hole, socket to rear. 4.82 grams total, 17-26 mm
Ex John Cummings Ltd., Lincolnshire, UK. From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an old information card.
