Egyptian Steatite Scarab

Two wooden panels showing two standing nimbate figures, probably Saint Daloucham on the right, wearing a red veil, and a bearded figure on the left, probably Saint Pachomius, holding a small cross and prayer beads; mounted on a fabric-covered backing board. 1.05 kg total, 65.2 x 50 cm



Leclere, Marseille, 20 April 2013, no.99. Private collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12184-221677.

Stylistically, the icon can be compared to the paintings in the Church of St. Thomas in Achmim, which could also help identify one of the two saints. Especially important in this regard are the parallels between the robes of the saints and those of Saint Thomas in the church’s Doom, with long folds coloured with identical colours; the floral decoration of the sleeves of the inner tunic, and the faces of the Saints, with oval and widened eyes. The influence of Ethiopian paintings of the same period is evident in the Church of Achmim, like in this icon. The painting preserves the distant memory of medieval paintings, through a Coptic cultural humus whose vestiges are still today in Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. In the Church of Achmim are represented the martyrs of Achmim, i.e. Saint Pachomius and his sister Saint Daloucham. It is not impossible that one of the represented ascetic monks could be Pachomius. It is also probable that the icon was part of a wider group, representing also other important characters of the Coptic Church.

Bastet in crouching pose with her tail wrapped close to right side of her body, seated on a tongue-shaped base, with a suspension loop on the creature’s back. 90 grams, 55 mm



Acquired on the UK art market, 1990s. Private collection, New York, USA.

Proof etching on laid paper of plate 68 from Vol .II of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. entiled Thèbes. Hypogées. Manuscrit sur papyrus. 256 grams, 104 x 68.5 cm



From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The papyrus manuscript was recovered from an underground tomb chamber (hypogeum). The text is written in a cursive style of hieroglyphs known as hieratic.