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LOT 0489

Sold for (Inc. bp): £169

LARGE EGYPTIAN FAIENCE HEART SCARAB
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
2 7/8 in. (48 grams, 73 mm).

Green-glazed with anatomical detailing, pierced through the outer edge.

PROVENANCE:
From an early 20th century collection London and Home counties, UK.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

LITERATURE:
Cf. Tinius, I., Altägypten in Braunschweig. Die Sammlungen des Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museums und des Städtischen Museums, Wiesbaden, 2011, p. 169, no. 327, for similar.

FOOTNOTES:
The heart scarab served to protect the individual by silencing the heart so it would not testify against its owner. Many heart scarabs, especially those intended for elite burials, were mounted with outstretched wings—symbols of divine protection and rebirth. These wings echoed the iconography of protective deities like Isis and Nephthys, enhancing the amulet’s power to safeguard the soul on its journey to eternal life. The pierced holes on the side of this example were likely for the attachment of such wings.

CONDITION
VETTING:
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