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LOT 0462
Egyptian Wooden Doll with Circular Decorations
COPTIC, 7TH-11TH CENTURIES A.D. OR LATER
4 4 7/8 in. (16 grams, 12.4 cm).
Flat anthropomorphic panel with incised ring-and-dot ornament to obverse, single central ring-and-dot to the reverse.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market, 1989-1995.
with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003.
Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
Cf. Shatil, A., ‘Bone figurines of the early Islamic period: the so called “Coptic dolls” from Palestine and Egypt’ in Vitezović, S. (ed), Close to the Bone: current studies in bone technologies, Belgrade, 2016, figs.1,2,3, and especially 5 no.12, for the type.
FootnotesIn the late Roman Egypt or early Islamic period (7th–11th century A.D.) a new type of figurine appeared in the archaeological record: small, crudely crafted human figures made of bone. Some researchers considered them as toys meant to prepare girls for motherhood; others saw them as fertility figurines. They are mostly referred to as early Christian or “Coptic dolls”. In Egypt and Palestine they seem to appear suddenly in the 7th century, coinciding with the Arab conquests, but they might have existed earlier. With the new Muslim empire bridging former Roman and Sassanian lands, these dolls found their way to Egypt and Palestine where they were reproduced in huge numbers, becoming popular in all levels of society of the 8th and 9th century. By the end of the 11th century they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, probably because of restrictions placed on their production by Islamic laws.
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Egyptian Bronze Base with Ibex and Hieroglyphs
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Rectangular with two sockets to the upper face, low-relief recumbent ibex; incised hieroglyphic text to one short sidewall and remains on both long sidewalls, giving a dedication to 'give life, health, a long [lifetime......]'. 205 grams, 11.7 cm
Galerie Orient-Occident, Paris, 1990. Parisian private collection. with Pierre Berge, 2 February 2017, lot 85.
The bound ibex is a frequent image in ancient Egyptian art and a prized foodstuff. The animal's presence on this base symbolises the finest offerings to the once-attached deity. -
Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Necklace Group
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Comprising four necklace strings with tubular and annular beads. 23 grams total, 72-95 cm long
From an old English deceased estate. Acquired on the London art market in the early 1990s. Property of a London, UK, collector. -
Egyptian Pharaoh Watercolour Attributed to Howard Carter
Dated 1917 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Profile bust of an Egyptian male in nemes headcloth with uraeus to the brow, wesekh segmented collar; signed bottom right 'Howard Carter, 1905'; board to reverse with pencilled note 'Hatshepsu' and inked 'Watercolour painting signed H carter 1905 / remnants of an old Philips auction label on verso', with pencilled star motif. 898 grams total, 38.5 x 31 cm
with old Phillips label to the verso.
Hatshepsut was the longest-reigning female ruler in Egyptian history (1473-1458 B.C.), who undertook several military expeditions. Howard Carter's father, Samuel, was an illustrator for the Illustrated London News in the later 1800s. In 1891, Howard Carter accompanied Percy Newberry on an expedition focussing on First Intermediate Period tombs at the Middle Egyptian site of Beni Hasan, from which many of his original pieces survive. During his time at El-Amarna, the excavator Flinders-Petrie took Carter to visit the newly discovered royal tomb of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Carter made some sketches there which were published in The Daily Graphic on March 23, 1892, accompanying Petrie’s article on the tomb. These sketches were the first Egyptian drawings published by Howard Carter, and the first to convey the uniqueness of Amarna art to the European public.
