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LOT 0456
Egypto-Phoenician Glass Scarab Seal with Beast-Tamer Scene
CIRCA 800-600 B.C.
3/4 in. (4.28 grams, 19 mm).
Ellipsoid in plan with transverse piercing, impressed intaglio scene of 'beast-tamer' motif (human figure in profile with one arm extended towards a rampant ibex); aqua glass; repaired.
ProvenanceEx the private collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK, formed from 1979-1999.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0456
Egypto-Phoenician Glass Scarab Seal with Beast-Tamer Scene
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£50 (EUR 58; USD 68) +BP*
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Egyptian Funerary Linen Fragment with Hieratic Text from the Book of the Dead for Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet
Graeco-Roman Period, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Bids: 19 | Current Bid: £1,100
Bearing a portion of Chapter 17, a spell written in late hieratic script executed in black ink on woven linen, consistent with funerary bandages of the Graeco-Roman period; the inscription identifies the owner as a woman named Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet, with her mother named Iset-(m-)khebit; as is typical for funerary manuscripts of this period, the father’s name is not recorded. 5.08 grams, 22 cm wide
Found inside an 18th-century Bible and believed to be a souvenir acquired in the 19th century. From the private collection of a North American lady. An academically identified and unpublished fragment, offering potential for further scholarly study and publication. Accompanied by a report in progress dated 28 April 2026 by Holly Lund.
Spell 17 is among the most important and widely transmitted compositions in the Book of the Dead, concerned with cosmology, divine knowledge, and the transformation of the deceased in the afterlife. Even in fragmentary form, such texts provide valuable insight into funerary belief and scribal practice during the later phases of ancient Egyptian religion. This description was prepared using information provided by Dr Ann-Katrin Gill, Academic Assistant at the Egyptological Institute, University of Leipzig, and a separate assessment by Steve Vinson, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. The linen fragment may derive from a nineteenth-century mummy unwrapping, a practise widely attested in this period. -
Egyptian Steatite Scarab with Cartouche
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £60 - 80 (+bp*)
Bids: 4 | Current Bid: £20
With detailing to the carapace, mouth and legs, underside with cartouche, ankh and other symbols. 2.98 grams, 18 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Egyptian Steatite Scarab Collection
Hyksos Period and New Kingdom, 18th-13th century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £400
Each with a domed carapace, two with a figure on the underside surrounded by hieroglyphs, two inscribed with hieroglyphic signs. 15 grams total, 18-24 mm
Acquired in Europe before 1992. Ex private collection, UK.
The term ‘Hyksos’ comes from the Egyptian phrase ‘heka khasuwt’, which means ‘rulers of foreign (hill) lands’. The 15th Dynasty was governed by these Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. They were not of Egyptian origin but were believed to be Canaanites, and their names were carved on their scarabs.
