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LOT 0006
Egyptian Rock Crystal Heart Scarab
LATE PERIOD, 664-342 B.C.
1 in. (8.72 grams, 25 mm).
Carved in the round with ribbed loop to the underside, carapace and leg detailing.
ProvenanceFrom a London and Home Counties collection, 1920-1940.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. Ben-Tor, D., The Scarab: A Reflection of Ancient Egypt, Tel Aviv, 1993, pp. 76-77, nos. 1-15, for examples of this type of scarab.
FootnotesNaturalistic scarabs carved in the round are characteristic of the Late Period and were crafted from various stones, including lapis lazuli, feldspar, carnelian, and rock crystal, as exemplified here. These scarabs were attached to the wrappings of a mummy, positioned over areas of the body such as the chest, neck, and hands.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Coptic Terracotta Clay Mould
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Discoid receptacle with a military saint in Roman armour (Saint Menas), with muscular cuirass and pteryges, arms open in the manner of the orans pose, animals (camels?) on his side. 198 grams, 89 mm
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The majority of the terracotta ampullae come from Egypt and bear representations of St. Menas or Mennas, an Egyptian Christian officer decapitated during the persecutions of Diocletian's time. The legend relates that the saint's body was placed upon a camel which was let loose to follow what course it chose; in the place where the camel stopped, some miles from Alexandria, a grave and a shrine were subsequently built. In allusion to this legend, St. Menas is often represented as standing between two camels, though the animals are often of so fantastic a form as to be very difficult to recognise. -
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Mr F.D. collection, acquired on the European art market, 1975 to present. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
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Egyptian Bronze Amun-Min-Kamutef Statuette
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Modelled in the round as a votive ithyphallic figure wearing a double-plumed crown with a sun disc, holding a flail in his outstretched right hand and his erect phallus in the left; mounted on a custom-made display base. 538 grams total, 21 cm high including stand
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Amun-Min-Kamutef was a syncretic deity combining the attributes of Amun, the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon, and Min who represents sexual procreation. The iconography of Amun's ithyphallic form Kamutef is essentially that of Min, and serves to emphasise the sexual prowess of the god. Kamutef means 'bull of his mother' and appears to refer both to Amun's sky-goddess mother in her cow form and to the bull's sexual prowess and strength.
