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LOT 0478
Egyptian Terracotta Bowl
PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, 4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
6 1/8 in. (375 grams, 15.5 cm wide).
Conical in profile with narrow foot; old collector's notation to underside: 'Found by Petrie location Ballas and Naqada in 1895'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of David Donlan (1947-2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery.
LiteratureCf. Petrie, W.M.F., Quibell, J.E., Naqada and Ballas, London, 1895, pl. XXII, no. 22, for a similarly styled vessel.
FootnotesNaqada (ancient Nubt) is situated on the west bank of the Nile, and is the type-site for the Predynastic period (Naqada I–III). It was a major centre of trade, craft production, and the process of unifying Egypt. Ballas is situated on the east bank opposite Naqada, and contains important Predynastic and Early Dynastic cemeteries excavated extensively by Flinders Petrie and James Quibell in conjunction with their work at Naqada. Their report was published in 1895.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0478
Egyptian Terracotta Bowl
Estimate £150 - 200€170 - 230 (for guidance only)$200 - 270 (for guidance only)
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Romano-Egyptian Alabaster Alabastron
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £270
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. -
Egyptian Faience Shabti of Tent-Aset
Third Intermediate Period, 22nd Dynasty, circa 945-715 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Bids: 3 | Current Bid: £10
Mummiform figure depicted with a tripartite wig and holding two hoes in crossed hands, with a painted seed-bag on the reverse and a headband, and a hieroglyphic legend on the lower body naming “The Osiris, Tent-Aset, justified”; repaired; mounted on a perspex base. 90 grams total, 11.7 cm including stand
From the collection of David Donlan (1947-2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery. -
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Egyptian Bronze Seated Bastet Cat Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Bids: 4 | Current Bid: £600
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and a suspension loop to the back. 5.76 grams, 21 mm
UK private collection before 2000. London collection, acquired on the UK art market.
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.
