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LOT 0027
Egyptian Thoth as an Ibis with Maat
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
1 1/2 in. (9.15 grams, 37 mm).
A blue-glazed composition amulet in the form of an ibis (representing the god Thoth) seated on a wedge-shaped base, facing a figure of Maat appearing as a diminutive stooping female with an ostrich feather; some details to both figures rendered in a darker blue glaze; suspension loop to the rear of the bird's neck.
ProvenanceAcquired from Dr Jan Beekmans, circa 1984.
UK private collection.
Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 26.7.873, for similar; cf. The Saint Louise Art Museum, object number 818:1940, for a very similar parallel.
FootnotesMaat and the moon god Thoth, husband and wife, together embody wisdom and cosmic order. As a divine couple, they served the sun god, Re.
Like Thoth, the ancient Egyptians connected the ibis with the moon, owing to its crescent moon-shaped beak. The ibis was well known in antiquity for its refusal to drink unhealthy and poisoned water, or to kill poisonous reptiles, and set mankind an example of cleanliness; thus, like the god Thoth, the ibis offered protection against dangerous forces and served as a model for purity and good sense. Maat embodies the order that Thoth protects. Her symbol, an ostrich feather, references a bird that inhabits desert and savannah habitats, although it must never wander too far away from rivers and lakes. The ostrich cannot fly, but it is a fast runner and a strong fighter.
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Egyptian Baboon-Headed Hapi Four Sons of Horus Amulet
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Fine condition.
From an old UK collection. Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the private collection of Alf Baxendale (1941-2016), keen Egyptologist, member of the Egyptology Society, trustee of the Amarna Trust; thence by descent. Accompanied by an identification display card. Accompanied by a copy of his obituary published in Horizon, The Amarna Project and Amarna Trust newsletter, Issue 18, 2017, p.21, by Barry John Kemp, CBE, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and directing excavations at Amarna in Egypt.
Alf Baxendale (1941-2016), was a keen amateur Egyptologist, active from the 1960s. He was a good friend of Egyptologist Barry John Kemp who directs excavations at Amarna in Egypt. Alf helped raise funds for equipment and materials for the excavations since the 1980s, and also secured a major sponsorship from one of Britain’s leading brewers, Scottish and Newcastle. He was a member of the Egyptology Society, and became a founder trustee of the Amarna Trust in 2005. Alf bequeathed a major part of his extensive library to the Amarna Project’s offices in Cairo.
