LOT 1977

Large Framed Book Plate with Egyptian Amulets

19TH CENTURY A.D.

27 3/4 x 21 in. (3 kg total, 70.6 x 53 cm including frame).

Large-format engraved plate illustrating amulets of various types (figures of Bes and Pataikos, multiple wedjat, Taweret with dorsal pillar, etc.), from the book series La Description de l'Egypte published after the French army's Egyptian campaign (1798-1801), Book A, Volume V, plate 88; mounted in a modern glazed frame. [No Reserve]

Ex private collection, London, UK.

Plate 88 from Vol.V of Description de l'Égypte : ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française entitled Collection d'Antiques.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt.