Phoenician White Steatite Cowroid Amulet

Bearing a portion of Chapter 17, a spell written in late hieratic script executed in black ink on woven linen, consistent with funerary bandages of the Graeco-Roman period; the inscription identifies the owner as a woman named Ta-sherit-n-ta-ihet, with her mother named Iset-(m-)khebit; as is typical for funerary manuscripts of this period, the father’s name is not recorded. 5.08 grams, 22 cm wide



Found inside an 18th-century Bible and believed to be a souvenir acquired in the 19th century. From the private collection of a North American lady. An academically identified and unpublished fragment, offering potential for further scholarly study and publication. Accompanied by a report in progress dated 28 April 2026 by Holly Lund.

Spell 17 is among the most important and widely transmitted compositions in the Book of the Dead, concerned with cosmology, divine knowledge, and the transformation of the deceased in the afterlife. Even in fragmentary form, such texts provide valuable insight into funerary belief and scribal practice during the later phases of ancient Egyptian religion. This description was prepared using information provided by Dr Ann-Katrin Gill, Academic Assistant at the Egyptological Institute, University of Leipzig, and a separate assessment by Steve Vinson, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, Bloomington. The linen fragment may derive from a nineteenth-century mummy unwrapping, a practise widely attested in this period.

Plano-convex in section with moulded piriform face and wig, tools in the crossed hands, accompanied by an old handwritten note 'faience. Ceramic composed of crushed quartz or quartz sand with small amounts of lime and plant ash or naron. Coated with a bright blue or green glaze or soda[...]' and to verso 'Late period 700-400 BC Ex Margaret Seton-Jones from Flinders Petrie'. 10.5 grams, 49 mm



Ex Margaret Seton-Jones from Flinders Petrie. From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. Accompanied by a handwritten slip with description and provenance.

Comprising: turned discoid counter with raised tiered rim and central boss, plain reverse with incised 'L · III' legend (numeral '53'); triangular-section arrowhead with low flanges to one face and mounting hole, socket to rear. 4.82 grams total, 17-26 mm



Ex John Cummings Ltd., Lincolnshire, UK. From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an old information card.