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LOT 0489
Egyptian Steatite Heart Scarab
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
7/8 in. (2.89 grams, 22 mm).
With ribbed carapace and suspension loop to underside.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market in the early 2000s.
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.
Cf. Ben-Tor, D., The Scarab: A Reflection of Ancient Egypt, Tel Aviv, 1993, p.77, no. 8, for a similar type.
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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Egyptian Gold Bastet Seated Cat Amulet
Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 0.51 grams, 8 mm
Ex French collection, early 20th century.
The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru' which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis and at Saqqara and Memphis. -
Egyptian Blue Faience Amulet Representing Taweret
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Modelled standing on a rectangular base in characteristic hippopotamus-headed form with a dorsal pillar, pierced for suspension at the rear of the tall two-feather headdress. 5.18 grams, 52 mm
Private collection, Carouge, Switzerland, assembled in the 1980s-1990s. Thence by descent to the collection of Mr S.P., since 2020. -
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Egyptian Bone and Glass Mummy Eye Pair
1st millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £416
Each lentoid in plan with applied iridescent blue glass panel. 5.18 grams total, 43-45 mm
Acquired in UK art market, 1977-1979.
