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LOT 0528
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.
LiteratureCf. 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 0528
Phoenician Glass Bead Collection
Estimate £900 - 1,200€1,040 - 1,390 (for guidance only)$1,220 - 1,620 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience and Gold Bead Bracelet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
A designer restrung three-strand bracelet composed of gold and composition beads coloured shades of blue, cream and brown; modern silver-coloured clasp; accompanied with a note reading 'Egyptian, Faience New Kingdom Beaded Bracelet, C. 1570-30 BC- New Kingdom to Ptolemaic Period. beautiful, restrung, elegant Egyptian beaded bracelet consisting of a selection of turquoise coloured, faience tubular beads & polychromatic disc-shaped beads, in a style inspired by the earliest bracelets known (from about 3000 BC) which were found in the tomb of King Djer.' 3.89 grams, 19 cm
Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman. Restrung from various accumulations of Egyptian beads from the last 30 years. -
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Egyptian Bone and Glass Mummy Eye Pair
1st millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £416
Each lentoid in plan with applied iridescent blue glass panel. 5.18 grams total, 43-45 mm
Acquired in UK art market, 1977-1979. -
Egyptian Silver Bastet Cat Amulet
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-32 B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £260
Seated figure of a cat with pointed ears mounted on a rectangular base with a rounded end; suspension loop on the back. 1.55 grams, 12 mm
Ex London, UK, gentleman's collection, 1990s.
The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C. when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru' which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis and at Saqqara and Memphis.
