Phoenicio-Egyptian Orange Stone Scaraboid

Carved in the round with integral suspension loop. 8.79 grams, 31 mm



From early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the heart (ib) was considered the centre of intelligence, emotions, and behaviour. It was also believed to store an individual's memories. During the Weighing of the Heart ceremony in the afterlife, the heart could speak on behalf of the deceased and account for their lifetime of actions before Osiris. For this reason, heart amulets were placed on the mummy to safeguard the organ and ensure a favourable outcome during judgment.

A rectangular section of woven linen textile featuring four lines of neat hieratic text in black. 8 grams, 32 cm



From 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.

From the fifth century B.C., mummy wrappings for the affluent frequently display lines of hieratic script—a cursive variant of Egyptian hieroglyphs used for both daily and religious writings. These often include excerpts from funerary texts like the Book of the Dead, along with prayers and invocations designed to safeguard and guide the deceased in the afterlife. These texts, sometimes accompanied by vignettes, were inscribed directly on the linen strips before or during the mummification process. Some of these bandages could be remarkably long; one example from Brussels, measuring only 6.2 cm in width, spans an incredible 26 metres.

Comprising (from left to right, top to bottom): 1) a scarab with an oval border containing the throne name of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh, Seti I (Men-Maat-Re); 2) a scarab with an oval outer border containing a continuous oblong scroll border framing a neb and ankh symbol; 3) a scarab with an oval border containing a seated adorant before a sa, water, and neb symbol; 4) a scarab with an oval border containing the throne name of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh, Ramesses II (User-Maat-Re), atop a neb sign; 5) a scarab with two signs, possibly representing the word for ‘bread’ above a goose, with a beer jar in front; 6) and a scaraboid with a stretched oval border containing mirrored pairs of rearing cobras surrounding a central sun disc. 18.64 grams total, 14-27 mm



From 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.