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LOT 0003
Egyptian Wooden Head of an Ibis
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 664-30 B.C.
7 1/4 in. (116 grams total, 18.5 cm wide).
Naturalistically carved ibis head from a composite statuette, with carefully detailed beak and eyes; traces of gesso and gilding remain; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceAmerican private collection, New York, acquired in London before 2000.
LiteratureCf. Waziry, M., Vestiges of Ancient Egypt,The Bubasteion Votive Cachette at Saqqara, Houston, 2023, pp.110-11, no. 48, for a complete example showing the wooden rod supporting the back of the head.
FootnotesThe ibis was sacred to the god Thoth, who was revered for his association with knowledge, writing, and healing. The god also acted as the recorder of the final judgment, which determined whether the deceased had lived a life of virtue. Vast numbers of ibises were mummified in religious centres such as Saqqara and Tuna el-Gebel, where they were offerings to the god and interred in extensive catacombs.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Silver Cat Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 0.33 grams, 8 mm
From an early 20th century collection.
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. -
Phoenician Bronze Scarab
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Scaraboid with incised detailing to the underside, with a central column depicting standing figures top and bottom, each flanked by two ankh symbols, and a central motif of a standing figure grasping a sceptre and winged serpent in each hand. 6.54 grams, 17 mm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection. -
Egyptian Limestone Relief with Hieroglyphic List of Funerary Offerings
Old Kingdom, circa 2513-2190 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,950
Dressed panel with reserved rectangular border to upper edge with ochre and terracotta pigment; left edge with reserved rectangle and column of hieroglyphs picked out with pigment; the left edge with a reserved rectangle and column of hieroglyphs picked out with pigment giving the titles of the deceased: ı͗ry-pꜤt ḥꜢty-Ꜥ nb, 'member of the elite, foremost of action, and lord'; to the right, a tabulated list of offerings with the quantities for each indicated beneath. 10.85 kg, 37 cm high
Acquired in the mid-1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12199-222171.
The majority of preserved Old Kingdom offerings lists come from tombs at Saqqara or other parts of the Memphite necropolis and were intended to ensure that the deceased would be sustainably provided for eternally. During the 4th Dynasty, around 165 different offerings could be listed for the deceased, but by the 5th Dynasty, almost half of these had disappeared while some new ones were added. Even then, these lists could include around a hundred offerings. Although non-consumable items such as eye paint and cloth are sometimes listed, most offerings are different kinds of food, such as bread, wine, grain, and fruit.
