Egyptian Terracotta Statuette Head of the God Harpocrates

Discoid seal impression with one face preserving a partial impressed cartouche, the other side bearing the impression of a cord and linen. 1.92 grams, 17 mm



London, UK, art market, 1980s. Private collection, London, UK.

Clay seals were used to secure doors and containers holding valuable commodities and goods. The impression on the underside of this example indicates that it once sealed a linen bag or a linen lid cover.

Barrel-shaped in profile, with a rounded base, broad shoulder and flared mouth, and two integral lateral loop handles; a single line of incised hieroglyphic text around the shoulder. 420 grams, 37 cm



Formerly in a private collection, Beirut, Lebanon, 1990s. Swiss private collection, acquired from Mr H., Geneva, 2010. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00059830 This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13221-249178.

In the Phoenician necropolises of Andalusia, the deceased's ashes were enclosed in luxurious alabaster urns of Egyptian manufacture. At Almuñécar, for example, some urns in the Phoenician necropolis preserved inscriptions and emblems of various Egyptian pharaohs, who ruled the Nile region between the 16th and 8th centuries B.C. Alabaster vessels of this type, originally containing fine wines, have been discovered, albeit in smaller numbers, in the royal palaces of Assur and Samaria in the East, as part of war booty or gifts exchanged between royal houses.

The rounded cylindrical handle narrowing towards the base and decorated with three horizontal bands; the circular, heavy bronze mirror highly polished and relatively small; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 766 grams total, 29 cm high including stand



with Rupert Wace, Ancient Art, 2003. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13517-263432.

The club-type handle resembles the hieroglyph hem, which can mean 'servant'. Therefore, the handle is thought to represent the mirror disc's servant. This type appears in pictorial scenes; for example, a similar smaller disc mirror with a hem handle is depicted in the Theban tomb (TT 60) of Senet (Davies, N.de G., The Tomb of Antefoker, Vizier of Sesostris I, and of His Wife, Senet, London 1930, pl. 30), and another with a larger disc and a shorter hem handle is depicted on the inside of the coffin of Sebeka (Steindorff, G., Grabfunde des mittleren Reichs in den königlichen Museen zu Berlin. Part 2: Der Sarg des Sebk.-o.- ein Grabfund aus Gebelen, Berlin, 1896, 2, pl. 2).