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LOT 0551
Egypto-Phoenician Haematite Scaraboid Seal
CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.
7/8 in. (8.35 grams, 21 mm).
With rampant lion and statant winged gryphon.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.3095.WW.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12715-234628.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0551
Egypto-Phoenician Haematite Scaraboid Seal
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Carnelian Scarab Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Carved in the round scarab with longitudinal piercing. 0.40 grams, 8.5 mm
Ex Belinda Elliston collection, 20th century. -
Large Egyptian Carnelian Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,925
Naturalistically modelled, featuring detailed head and elytra, with suspension loop on the underside. 3.98 grams, 22 mm
Collection of a lady, circa 1940. Ex Mayfair gallery, London, UK. Ex an important Wiltshire, UK, collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13158-249420.
The scarab amulet was arguably the most ubiquitous symbol in ancient Egypt, representing rebirth, transformation, and protection. Modelled after the scarab beetle, which was associated with the sun god Khepri - believed to roll the sun across the sky - the amulet illustrated the cycle of life and regeneration. Scarabs were commonly placed with the deceased as funerary amulets to ensure safe passage into the afterlife. They also served as seals and personal charms, often inscribed with prayers, names, or protective formulas. Widely used from the early Middle Kingdom (c. 2050 BCE) onwards, scarab amulets reflect both spiritual beliefs and everyday practices in ancient Egyptian life. -
Egyptian Black Hardstone Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Dark green hardstone with paler speckles; with a boldly carved head, clypeus, prothorax and elytra, and legs indicated at the sides; plain underside. 17 grams, 29 mm
Ex Irene Newman, Birdham, Chichester, West Sussex, England. with Stride & Son Auctioneers, Chichester, West Sussex, England, 23 April 2015, no.1599 [Part]. Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.
The scarab, which represented the dung beetle, was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt for approximately two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period when it gradually fell out of favour. The popularity of scarabs extended beyond the borders of Egypt, and they were also distributed and produced in other regions, such as Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri, derived from the verb 'to come into existence', and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri, who was self-engendered. The ancient Egyptians mistakenly believed that the young beetle emerging from the dung ball was the result of an act of self-creation.
