Phoenician Steatite Multi-Bodied Astarte Amulet

Including textile fragment, spindle whorl, shabti and other items. 41 grams total, 1.4-11 cm



From an old English collection. The shabti acquired from Den of Antiquity in 2011. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

An over-life-size head of a pharaoh, likely from a monumental sphinx, wearing the royal nemes headdress with a prominent headband and the remains of a rearing uraeus on the brow with a single coil of the body on either side of the cobra’s hood, its tail extending towards the back of the headdress; the large, almond-shaped eyes prominently outlined, and unlike on some portraits, the cosmetic lines do not extend beyond the outer corner; the fragmentary nose almost spanning the width of the small mouth modelled with straight and somewhat pursed lips; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 45.15 kg, 43 cm



Private collection, Germany, 1975. European collection, 1980s-late 1990s. By descent from the above to the present owner. Accompanied by an academic report by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12201-218142. 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.

The presence of tool marks around the neck and sides of the head, contrasting the smooth surface of the face and front part of the headdress, suggests that the sculpture is an unfinished piece. The noticeably heavy brow line is a feature of the 30th Dynasty style, which then influenced Ptolemaic royal portraiture (cf. Tomoum, N., The Sculptors' Models of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, Cairo, 2006, pl.17, for a finished portrait assigned to the 30th Dynasty).

Fragment of a statue of an official, comprising the torso and legs clad in an ankle-length robe and seated on a rectangular-section seat with stepped base and short, curved backrest and rear dorsal pillar; the left hand carved with the hand palm-downwards placed flat along the thigh; the right hand similarly placed but with the hand gripping a folded piece of cloth of which the ends are draped over the lower thigh above the knee; traces of an old label to reverse. 4.1 kg, 18.7 cm



Private collection, Europe. with Bonham's & Brooks, 8th November 2001, no.265. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonham's & Brooks catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12584-232097. 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.

The official would have been shown wearing a longer cloak-like garment rather than a waist-height kilt, as the line of the folded edge is visible above where a waistband would typically be.