Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0014
Egyptian Wooden Cow Giving Birth Diorama with Two Figures
MIDDLE KINGDOM, 11TH-12TH DYNASTY, 2023-1862 B.C.
3 3/4 - 6 1/4 in. (113 grams total, 9.5-16 cm).
Comprising three figures to represent a calving scene: a standing cow or other quadruped giving birth to its young, its head, neck and forelegs emerging from the mother's rear, both with a black and white speckled coat; a standing male figure with articulated arms and pierced hands, wearing a kilt and cropped wig and with stylised facial detailing; a kneeling figure also with articulated arms, open-palm hands, wearing a kilt and cropped wig, stylised facial features; extensive remains of polychrome pigment. [3]
Provenance
From an early 20th century Home Counties collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11597-199209.
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.
Literature
Cf. Barker, G., Preparing for Eternity: Funerary models and wall scenes from the Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdoms, Oxford, 2022, p.113 figure 4.2, for a near-identical calving cow figure, possibly from Meir (now in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, inv. no. 910.18.16.1-3); cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 2021.41.170 and 11.150.5, for similar human and animal figures of this date.
Footnotes
Such models would have been deposited in tombs; the purpose of such a scene was probably to evoke the season of spring, when calves were born, and the floodplain where farmers lived and raised their livestock.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0014
Egyptian Wooden Cow Giving Birth Diorama with Two Figures
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
RELATED LOTS
-
Phoenician Terracotta Juglet
Circa 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Narrow in profile with tapering body and flared foot, tubular neck with strap handle to rear. 97 grams, 94 mm
From North Africa, UK. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. Accompanied by an old handwritten dealer's tag. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Coptic Terracotta Clay Mould
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Discoid receptacle with a military saint in Roman armour (Saint Menas), with muscular cuirass and pteryges, arms open in the manner of the orans pose, animals (camels?) on his side. 198 grams, 89 mm
Maurice Bouvier, Alexandrie, prior 1959. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The majority of the terracotta ampullae come from Egypt and bear representations of St. Menas or Mennas, an Egyptian Christian officer decapitated during the persecutions of Diocletian's time. The legend relates that the saint's body was placed upon a camel which was let loose to follow what course it chose; in the place where the camel stopped, some miles from Alexandria, a grave and a shrine were subsequently built. In allusion to this legend, St. Menas is often represented as standing between two camels, though the animals are often of so fantastic a form as to be very difficult to recognise. -
Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Multi-stranded designer necklace composed of beads of mainly annular and cylindrical types; restrung. 26 grams, 72 cm
Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
For thousands of years, artisans in Egypt created vibrant ceramics to echo the beauty of rare jewels. These ornaments were created with almost every material, colour, and texture imaginable and they come from across Egypt and beyond: vibrant blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glossy black obsidian from Turkey, and aqua-green turquoise from the Sinai. They were worn in life and, after death, they served as precious ornamentation for mummies.
