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LOT 0470
Phoenician Terracotta Head
6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
2 1/4 in. (65 grams, 58 mm).
Tongue-shaped fragment depicting a figure with almond-shaped eyes and wearing a headdress. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Moscati, S., I Fenici Milano, 1988, p.150, for a similar statuette from Amrit.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Hardstone Hair Ring
New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Circular with a semi-circular profile and an opening on one side. 3.57 grams, 17 mm
From a 20th century UK collection. Accompanied by a previously illustrated catalogue card with provenance. -
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Egyptian Bronze Seated Cat Statuette
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £333
Bastet in crouching pose with her tail wrapped close to right side of her body, seated on a tongue-shaped base, with a suspension loop on the creature’s back. 90 grams, 55 mm
Acquired on the UK art market, 1990s. Private collection, New York, USA. -
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Egyptian Seated Gold Bastet Cat Amulet
Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-900 B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £527
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and a suspension loop to the back. 0.54 grams, 8 mm
Ex French art market, 1920s.
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.
