Loading, please wait...
LOT 0545
Large Egyptian Bright Blue Faience Sun Disc Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (7.5 grams, 32 mm).
Large discoid with deep blue glaze, representing the sun disc on the horizon, pierced at the top. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceExcavated from Egypt in 1914.
From the private collection of Mr David Sams and his wife, Elizabeth Kate Sams, gentry and amateur archaeologists who travelled to Egypt in 1914 with their daughter, Ethel. Mr Sams and his wife led digging expeditions from which these items come, from the family estate of Mr and Mrs Sams, by direct descent to their granddaughter.
Cf. Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, p.88, fig.90d.
FootnotesThe sun disc and sun-disc-on-the-horizon (akhty) amulets are linked to the deceased's rebirth.
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.
LOT 0545
Large Egyptian Bright Blue Faience Sun Disc Amulet
Estimate £40 - 60€46 - 70 (for guidance only)$54 - 81 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
-
Egyptian Painted Wooden Sarcophagus and Cartonnage Fragments
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Irregular wooden fragments with plaster remnants and polychrome decoration, including a representation of a Maat feather. 44 grams total, 3-10.1 cm
with a privately curated collection, 1980s-early 2000s. From the private collection and estate of Christine Simons (1943-2025), West Midlands, UK. -
Egyptian Clay Shabti Group
New Kingdom-Late Period, circa 13th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising: a crude, red clay mummiform figure with minimal shaping, and a mould-formed figure with a lappet wig and crossed arms holding agricultural implements, with white pigment on the surface. 80 grams total, 9.3-12.7 cm
with a privately curated collection, 1980s-early 2000s. From the private collection and estate of Christine Simons (1943-2025), West Midlands, UK. -
Egyptian Terracotta Bes Vessel
Graeco-Roman Period, 332 B.C.-323 A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Bulbous in profile, with a short, broad neck, a rolled rim, and an angled handle; obverse with a moulded mask of Bes, with lentoid eyes and a hatched face. 140 grams, 68 mm
From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.
Bes, a dwarf deity primarily of the household, was a powerful apotropaic entity who warded off evil spirits, guarded homes, and protected vulnerable family members, especially pregnant women and infants. Bes vessels were thought to imbue their contents with healing properties. Chemical analysis of some Graeco-Roman Bes vessels shows they held hallucinogenic, medicinal, and alcoholic blends explicitly tied to pregnancy rituals and ritual intoxication. During the Graeco-Roman Period, mould-made figure vessels and terracotta figurines became very common. By contrast, earlier eras produced almost none of these vessels; only one ceramic example is known from the New Kingdom, and none from the Third Intermediate or Late Periods. These mass-produced terracottas allowed non-elites to venerate cult images at home altars or leave them as accessible votive offerings at local sanctuaries.
