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LOT 0585
Egyptian Yellow Faience Bastet Cat Amulet
NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1550-1070 B.C.
1 in. (2.51 grams, 26 mm).
Figure of Bastet as a cat with pointed ears, seated on a rectangular base with a rounded end; suspension loop on the back, ear repaired.
ProvenanceEx London gallery and Belinda Elliston, a member of the Egyptian Exploration Society, 1940s onwards.
LiteratureCf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, item 29(c).
FootnotesIn ancient Egypt, the cat was venerated as the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, whose principal cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Although cats were once part of folk practice, their veneration as part of formal cults spread across Egypt during the Late Period. Bastet was closely linked to lion-headed goddesses like Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Pakhet, and the cat itself became associated with solar imagery: the Book of the Dead portrays the sun god as a Great Cat vanquishing Apophis beneath the sacred Ished Tree. The cat could also embody the Eye of the Sun or, more often in Bastet’s case, the Eye of the Moon. Mummified cats were frequently dedicated as votive offerings, and some of their feline-shaped coffins were adorned with finely crafted bronze heads to enhance their divine likeness.
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Very Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph of Thebes
Early 19th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Proof etching on laid paper of plate 1 entitled Thèbes. Plan général de la portion de la Vallée du Nil qui comprend les ruines, Volume II, Plate 1. 341 grams, 103.8 x 69.5 cm
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). -
Large Mounted Egyptian Coptic Textile
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Possible fragment of tapestry or a cloak, light fabric, S-twist tapestry, ornamented with wool and linen flowers in red, green and yellow colour. 1.8 kg total, mount: 78 x 70 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Most of the linen or wool garments found by A. Gayet in the Antinoe necropolis were woven in a specific pattern, in a single piece, on a horizontal warp. Another relatively common pattern for linen garments consisted of assembling three pieces woven on a single warp and forming the upper part of the garment, with the collar and sleeves. -
Coptic Wooden Standing Figure
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With drum-shaped head and incised eyes, slender neck, reserved breasts, right arm bent with hand extended, trim waist, full hips, seated on a rectangular throne(?); deep vertical slot to the left side. 214 grams, 25cm
Fair condition, usage wear.
From an important central London collection formed since the mid 1960s; thence by descent. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.
