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LOT 0408
Late Coptic Panels Decorated with Two Standing Saints
17TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.
25 5/8 x 19 3/4 in. (1.05 kg total, 65.2 x 50 cm).
Two wooden panels showing two standing nimbate figures, probably Saint Daloucham on the right, wearing a red veil, and a bearded figure on the left, probably Saint Pachomius, holding a small cross and prayer beads; mounted on a fabric-covered backing board.
ProvenanceLeclere, Marseille, 20 April 2013, no.99.
Private collection, UK.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12184-221677.
Cf. Atalla, N.S., Coptic Art, Wall Paintings, Peintures Murales, L'Art Copte, Cairo, 1989, fig. p.119 (paintings from the Monastery of Thomas, Achmim); Zibawi, M., L’Arte Copta, L’Egitto Cristiano dalle origini al XVIII secolo, Milano, 2003, figs.289-290.
FootnotesStylistically, the icon can be compared to the paintings in the Church of St. Thomas in Achmim, which could also help identify one of the two saints. Especially important in this regard are the parallels between the robes of the saints and those of Saint Thomas in the church’s Doom, with long folds coloured with identical colours; the floral decoration of the sleeves of the inner tunic, and the faces of the Saints, with oval and widened eyes. The influence of Ethiopian paintings of the same period is evident in the Church of Achmim, like in this icon. The painting preserves the distant memory of medieval paintings, through a Coptic cultural humus whose vestiges are still today in Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. In the Church of Achmim are represented the martyrs of Achmim, i.e. Saint Pachomius and his sister Saint Daloucham. It is not impossible that one of the represented ascetic monks could be Pachomius. It is also probable that the icon was part of a wider group, representing also other important characters of the Coptic Church.
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LOT 0408
Late Coptic Panels Decorated with Two Standing Saints
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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Phoenician Green Stone Scarab with Man Fighting Lion
5th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £120 - 170 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £60
Modelled with incised detailing, pierced longitudinally, the underside with a bearded king in Assyrian attire, wearing a long, striated garment and tall headdress, grasping the forelegs of a rearing lion, its head turned back, a star above. 2.63 grams, 18 mm
Private collection, 1990s-early 2000s.
The motif of the Egyptian king overcoming an enemy, whether human or animal, is well attested in the New Kingdom and was later adopted by non-Egyptian artisans for scarabs and seals. -
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Egyptian Steatite Scarab Collection
Hyksos Period and New Kingdom, 18th-13th century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £400
Each with a domed carapace, two with a figure on the underside surrounded by hieroglyphs, two inscribed with hieroglyphic signs. 15 grams total, 18-24 mm
Acquired in Europe before 1992. Ex private collection, UK.
The term ‘Hyksos’ comes from the Egyptian phrase ‘heka khasuwt’, which means ‘rulers of foreign (hill) lands’. The 15th Dynasty was governed by these Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. They were not of Egyptian origin but were believed to be Canaanites, and their names were carved on their scarabs. -
Egyptian Glazed Faience New Year Flask with Baboons
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Lentoid body with segmented collars and blue detailing around the shoulders, neck with papyrus stalk detailing and a domed rim; addorsed stylised baboons flanking the neck. 263 grams, 16 cm
Acquired on the UK art market, 1990s. Private collection, New York, USA. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13350-255452.
The concept of renewal is expressed through the form, decoration, and inscriptions of this type of flask. Their rounded bodies evoke the sun disc, symbolising daily rebirth, while the squatting baboons flanking the mouth allude to those that greeted the rising sun each morning. The blue collar decoration, including floral motifs, as seen here, symbolises the renewal of the agricultural cycle through the annual Nile inundation. The papyrus-capital spout reinforces this theme of regeneration. Although traditionally dated exclusively to the 26th Dynasty, examples recovered from Late Period and early Ptolemaic contexts indicate that their popularity actually endured for several centuries.
