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LOT 0025
Egyptian Travertine Kohl Jar and Lid
MIDDLE KINGDOM-EARLY NEW KINGDOM, 12TH-EARLY 18TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1985-1479 B.C.
2 1/2 in. (355 grams, 65 mm).
Piriform vessel with flared foot and wide rim, discoid lid with raised central panel to verso.
ProvenanceEx Galerie Nefer, Zurich, Switzerland.
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Egypt’s Golden Age, p.218, no.263; Seidel, W., Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Speyer, 1993, p.204, no.120; see also Guidotti, M.C., Vasi dall’epoca protodinastica al Nuovo Regno, Museo Egizio di Firenze, Rome, 1991, pp.120-121, for other examples.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0025
Egyptian Travertine Kohl Jar and Lid
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Phoenician Inscribed Bronze Scaraboid Seal
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Scaraboid featuring a grooved band across the upper face and an incuse schematic human figure with enigmatic symbols on the underside. 3.1 grams, 13.46 mm
Ex London, UK, gentleman, 1990. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Egyptian Silver Fly Amulet
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
With linear detailing to the body, raised eyes, pierced through the head for suspension. 0.82 grams, 17 mm
From an early 20th century collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Egyptian artists often depicted fly whisks with pharaohs and officials, suggesting flies were just nuisances. In reality, Egyptians valued flies for their speed and persistence. Small fly amulets appeared around 3200 B.C. in Naqada II burials, gaining popularity and varying materials during the New Kingdom, including gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst, faience, and gemstones. These amulets were thought to protect against insect bites and troublesome creatures via apotropaic magic and possibly symbolised fecundity. Pharaohs awarded gold fly-shaped pendants to honour soldiers' bravery in battle. -
Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £450
The head of goddess Bastet modelled in the round with alert ears and eyes, ears pierced; hollow-formed. 40.4 grams, 33.6 mm high
Acquired in the mid 1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The feline's pierced ears likely once held earrings or other ornaments. It was probably attached to a statuette of a cat, whose body may have been crafted from wood. The cat was sacred to Bastet, a protective mother goddess and the daughter of the sun god Re. Amulets provided the wearer with the goddess's protection. Her name means ‘she of the bast [ointment jar],’ which may have contained a substance favoured by or exclusive to royalty. Originally, Bastet was depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, but by the late New Kingdom, she was typically shown with a cat's head. She is sometimes portrayed with kittens, emphasising her maternal role as a fierce protector of her offspring.