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LOT 0051
Egyptian Serpentine Shabti for King Senkamenisken
NUBIA, NAPATAN PERIOD, 643-623 B.C.
8 1/4 in. (659 grams total, 21 cm including stand).
Mummiform figure wearing a braided beard with chin-straps in relief, broad collar visible between the lappets of the nemes headdress adorned with a double uraeus, the crossed hands holding a hoe and pick, with a seed bag over the left shoulder, his broad face with straight nose, wide-set eyes and large ears, six horizontal lines of inscription, giving a version of Chapter 6 from the Book of the Dead; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceJ.J. Klejman, Madison Avenue, New York, USA, 1960s.
UK private collection, acquired from the above, 1960s.
Bluett and Sons, London, 1979.
Sheppard & Cooper, UK, private collection, 1980s.
Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani, the 'Princely' private collection, UK.
Acquired from the above in 2017.
with Sotheby's, London, 5 July 2024, no.126.
Accompanied by a copy of the Bluett and Sons invoice, 22 January 1979.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13273-254064.
Cf. Lacovara, P., Teasley Trope, B., and D’Auria, S.H., The Collector’s Eye: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art from The Thalassic Collection, Ltd., Atlanta, 2001, pp. 130-131, no. 78, for a comparable serpentine example.
FootnotesOf the 1277 shabtis of Senkamenisken found in the king's burial chamber of his pyramid tomb at Nuri (Pyramid 3), 410 are made of serpentine, the remaining 867 of faience.
The inscription reads: 'The illuminated one, the Osiris, the good god, lord of the two lands, Sekheper[en]re, true of voice, He says: "O this shabti, if anyone summons the Osiris Senkamenisken, true of voice, in order to do any work which is to be done in the God's Land (i.e. necropolis), to cultivate the fields, to irrigate the canals, to carry sand from the east to the west and vice versa, 'Here I am', you shall say".
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Egyptian Glass Panel with Eyes
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Irregular glass panel fragment with inlaid mosaic eye motifs; repaired. 1.57 grams, 18 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Faience Shabti Collection
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Comprising mainly D-section types with moulded facial detailing some with vertical band of hieroglyphs to the lower body. 11.1 grams total, 67-72 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Bronze Harpocrates Statue
26th Dynasty, 664-525 B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
Modelled in the round, shown nude, seated with his left arm by his side and his right forefinger on his chin, wearing a sidelock of youth, nemes headdress surmounted by an elaborate hem-hem crown; mounted on a custom-made stand with dealer's label to underside. 480 grams total, 19.8 cm including stand
Ex Fitzthum collection, Vermont, New England. Acquired New York, USA, 2000. Acquired from Royal Athena Galleries, New York, USA, 20 March 2008. Ex Keane collection, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the original Royal Athena Galleries invoice no.11164. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13272-252852.
Harpocrates is the Greek equivalent of the Egyptian name Hor-pa-khered, which means ‘Horus the Child’. This name refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. Wearing an amulet of Harpocrates was believed to provide the same protection that Isis granted to her beloved son. Larger bronze statuettes were probably votive offerings to Harpocrates, intended to secure his favour and protection.
