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LOT 0551
Phoenician Glass Bead Collection
6TH-3RD CENTURY B.C. OR LATER
1/2 - 1 5/8 in. (179 grams total, 12-42 mm).
Comprising a group of crumb-decorated polychrome oblate beads and a centrepiece pendant formed as a stylised bearded head. [29]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Lightfoot, C. S., The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art: Ancient Glass, New York, 2017, pp. 310-328, for discussion and examples of Phoenician glass beads.
FootnotesThe Phoenicians, renowned seafarers and traders, were also skilled glassworkers. They produced a wide variety of glass beads using core-forming and winding techniques, with vivid colours and elaborate designs that reflect both technical mastery and cross-cultural influence. Among the most iconic Phoenician beads are glass 'head' beads, crafted in the form of stylised human or mythological faces. Typically, they feature exaggerated facial details like bulging eyes, large noses, beards, and headdresses, often with expressive or comic features.
They were possibly worn as amulets to ward off evil or attract protection, though they may also represent deities, ancestors, or foreigners.
These beads often incorporate Egyptian, Greek, and Near Eastern stylistic elements, reflecting the Phoenicians’ extensive trade networks.
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LOT 0551
Phoenician Glass Bead Collection
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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Very Large Phoenician Stone Scarab with Hieroglyphics
8th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Plano-convex in section with segmented carapace and longitudinal piercing; underside with dense eight-line hieroglyphic text. 209 grams, 68 mm
Private collection, Switzerland, circa 1980. Acquired in 1994. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12850-241676. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Egyptian Turquoise Glazed Seated Harpocrates
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, circa 664-525 B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
The god in a semi-seated pose with sidelock and uraeus; mounted on a custom-made stand. 10 grams total, 52 mm including stand
Collection de Son Excellence Mandou Riaz (1895-1963). Archéologie, François de Ricqlès, Paris, 11-12 November 2001, no.186. Private collection, London, UK, acquired from the above sale. Accompanied by a copy of the François de Ricqlès invoice. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
While the semi-seated pose of the figurine may imply that it was part of a composite statuette, possibly featuring a separately modelled throne or seated on the lap of his mother, Isis, independent amulets with suspension loops depicting the god in this pose are also prevalent. Harpocrates is the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which translates as ‘Horus the Child’. This designation refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. Wearing the amulet of Harpocrates could grant the wearer the same protection that Isis provided to her beloved son. -
Egyptian Silver Poppy Amulet Collection
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Group of poppy-head amulets, some with suspension loop, others pierced. 7.21 grams total, 5-18 mm
Ex London, UK, gentleman 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Amulets in the form of poppies were used to heal and alleviate pain and to ward off death. These types of amulets were also linked to Osiris, the Egyptian deity of agriculture, death, and the afterlife.
