Egypto-Phoenician Lapis Lazuli Scarab with Cartouche for Thutmose III

With carapace detailing to obverse, plaque with intaglio cartouche for the throne name of Thutmose III men-kheper-Re, winged scarab and fronds flanking. 7.4 grams, 25 mm



Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12127-211877.

With boldly indicated head, clypeus, prothorax, and elytra; flat underside; holes at the head, back, and sides for attachment. 19.5 grams, 50 mm



with Beaussant Lefèvre, 17 November 2015, no.48. Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and were believed to symbolise the rebirth and regeneration of the deceased.

Modelled in the half-round with rounded facial features, lappet wig, false beard and crossed arms holding a pick and a hoe. 18 grams, 78 mm



Ex H. Norry collection, 1980s-1990s.

One of the primary purposes of shabti figures was to carry out heavy manual tasks on behalf of a person in the afterlife, and they were often depicted with necessary implements in their hands, such as baskets, picks, and hoes. Over time, the number of shabtis in a standard elite burial increased, from one in the Eighteenth Dynasty to several in the Nineteenth Dynasty, to one for every day of the year by the Third Intermediate Period. The high number of shabtis remained a feature in the Late and Ptolemaic Periods.