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LOT 0607
Large Egyptian Coptic Tunic Textile Fragment with Parallel Clavi and Images of Hunting Warriors and Animals
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
29 1/8 in. (148 grams total including paper folder, 74 cm).
Large portion of a tunic featuring pairs of 'clavi' decorated with an alternating sequence of shield-bearing hunters, lions, and rabbits; on the right lower side, an ornamental tabula; white linen warp with S-twist, tapestry-woven figures. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Museo dell'Alto Medioevo, Roma, I materiali Copti, p.86, no.6, for a similar textile.
FootnotesThe theme of rabbits or hares, in association with other characters and animals of the Dionysian thiasos (like the lions), in a hunting setting, has notable parallels. Such representations are linked to narratives of the Dionysian cycle. However, the hunting scene—considered by the Romans the best exercise for military training—may imply a strong connection to the military context.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0607
Large Egyptian Coptic Tunic Textile Fragment with Parallel Clavi and Images of Hunting Warriors and Animals
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Terracotta Funerary Cone of Menkheperreseneb
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 15th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Bids: 4 | Current Bid: £150
Front portion of a tapering funerary cone, with the circular flat surface impressed with four vertical columns of hieroglyphs, reading: 'The Osiris, hereditary prince, count, chancellor of the king of Lower Egypt, first god's servant of Amun, Menkheperreseneb, true of voice.' 554 grams, 10.4 cm
Acquired from Abdoul Rassoul on the West Bank at Luxor, 1974-1980 when a guest lecturer. From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.
Menkheperreseneb served under the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Thutmosis III. His tomb (TT 86) is in the Theban necropolis at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna. -
Egyptian Mounted Coptic Textile Terminal Fragment of a Clavus with Putto
Circa 6th century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
With a putto flying over a red woven surface, in red, green, and yellow wool, S-twist tapestry. 26 grams total, 52 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Among the many fragments of wool tunics, there are several long strips that match to form a nearly full-length central pectoral clavi. They were patterned with a profusion of small figures like this flying putto, kept in one orbiculus (round embroidery), forming the finial of a clavus. -
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.
