Egyptian Steatite Scarab with Cartouche of Thutmose III

Small alabastron in banded Egyptian calcite-alabaster, pointed ovoid body and tall neck divided by a broad annular collar and finished with a plain straight rim. 7.71 grams, 44 mm



Acquired on the European art market in 1990s. English private collection.

A well-attested type produced from the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty through the Ptolemaic period and continuing into the early Julio-Claudian era.

Pyramidal in form with shallow-carved hip and facial detailing. 537 grams, 81 mm



with 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.

The 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.

Neferhotep depicted advancing on a rectangular base, holding in the left hand the was sceptre, topped with the stylised head of an animal linked to the god Seth, with the right arm held rigid by the side with a clenched fist; wearing a Pschent crown with uraeus above the brow, a short, pleated shendyt kilt, and a broad multi-strand collar; the head features a tightly curled wig, false beard, and lentoid wire rims around the eyes; mounted on a custom-made stand. 345 grams total, 17.3 cm high including stand



Private collection of Mrs Bogaert, formed in 1949, Ghent, near Brussels, Belgium. Ex private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13310-258230.

Neferhotep was explicitly recognised as a deity with a cult only from the Late Period, although it may have been understood earlier and later as the incarnation of the youthful divine king, since pharaohs from the 18th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic Period are sometimes depicted wearing the same wig. Neferhotep, whose name translates as 'the perfect one is at peace,' was considered to be the son of Hathor and was venerated at Hu (Diospolis Parva), as well as at Karnak, Dendera, and Behbeit el-Hagar. Provenanced statues of the god originate from the Memphite region.