Loading, please wait...
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.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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.
-
Egyptian Faience Amulet Group
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Comprising: two amulets of Isis suckling infant Horus; Horus in falcon form; a papyrus column; a djed pillar; two amulets of Thoth depicted as an ibis-headed man; a circular plaque with head of Bes, and others. 29 grams total, 16-52 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Comprising a large fragment of a segmentum in linen and wool, decorated with orbiculi, a warrior to the centre flanked by hares; a large fragment of a segmentum in purple embroidery, comprising a central row with Nubian figures and borders with geometric decoration; a third segmentum in red, green and yellow wool with central vegetal ornaments. 126 grams total including package, 28-31.2 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The theme of rabbits or hares, in association with other characters and animals of the Dionysian thiasos in a hunting setting, has notable parallels. The warrior in the center of the medallion holds a spear and shield and raises his left leg forward. Such representations are linked to narratives of the Dionysian cycle. -
.jpg)
Large Egyptian Red Stone Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Plano-convex in section, carved in the half-round scarab with segmented carapace; underside plain. 56.6 grams, 42 mm
with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.
