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LOT 0525
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Frog Lamp
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3 in. (86 grams, 77 mm).
Ovoid-shaped and biconvex in section, decorated with a frog design; impressed palmette maker's mark to the base [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a late Tavistock, Devon, UK, gentleman, formed from the 1990s.
LiteratureSee Bussière, J., Lindros Wohl, B., Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 2017, p.366, for the type.
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 Faience Sekhmet Cat Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and suspension loop to the back. 2.91 grams, 28 mm
Ex early 20th century collection.
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. -
Egyptian Alabaster Vessel
2nd-1st millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £286
With a cylindrical body with a tapering, slightly concave profile, a flat base and rim. 271 grams, 77 mm wide
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1980-2020s. -
Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Mask with Scarab and Four Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
A restrung netted beadwork panel of annular and tubular glazed composition beads in blues, greens, black, cream and red-brown colours, depicting a mummy face mask with false beard, a scarab with extended wings below, the 'Four Sons of Horus’ beneath the scarab, joined together with areas of open netting of tubular beads. 100 grams, 24 cm
Ex North London, UK, gallery. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
The Four Sons of Horus were deities responsible for protecting the deceased's internal organs. The human-headed Imsety protected the liver, the baboon-headed Hapy protected the lungs, the jackal-headed Duamutef protected the stomach, and the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef protected the intestines.
