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Back to previous pageLOT 0437
Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (10.5 grams total, 30-32 mm).
White stone sclera with black stone iris, green stains visible on edges from copper rims. [2, No Reserve]
PROVENANCE:
Acquired on the UK art market, 1977-1979.
Private collection, London.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
FOOTNOTES:
Egyptian coffin eye inlays were both decorative and symbolic, intended to make the coffin appear lifelike and assist the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, they featured a white sclera (glass, alabaster or quartz), a dark iris (glass or often obsidian), and sometimes red paint at the inner corner. The eyes were often set in bronze or copper frames, occasionally with faience or bronze eyebrows.
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