Origin: Egypt Circa: 3200 BC to 2500 BC Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high x 7.8" (19.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Negada II - early Dynastic Period Medium:  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 3200 BC to 2500 BC Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high x 7.8" (19.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Negada II - early Dynastic Period Medium: Granite This carefully crafted stone vessel is semi- circular in profile and exhibits two, transversely pierced lug handles on either side of the its body, sculpted from the same, single block of stone at the point of the vessel’s greatest diameter. The mouth of this vase is disc shaped and set off from the shoulder by a deeply incised line. Vessels of this shape in a variety of stones are dated to the period shortly before and after the traditional unification of Egypt around 3200 BC. Vases such as this were often placed in tombs where they served a dual role. On the one hand, they may have contained foodstuffs and the like intended for the spiritual nourishment of the deceased in the Hereafter. On the other hand, stones were considered magical materials because of their seeming permanence. The placing of stone vessels in tombs of the period may, therefore, be regarded as a means of magically insuring the permanence of the deceased by the transference of that quality inherent in the stone to his or her spirit.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Saite Medium: Bronze A number of primates are depicted  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Saite Medium: Bronze A number of primates are depicted throughout the history of ancient Egyptian art, and these include at least two species of the baboon. These can generally be distinguished from one another by the presence of a long mane, often called a mantle, which is a zoological feature peculiar to the hamadryas baboon, called , j’n, in the ancient Egyptian language. Members of this species were regarded as sacred from the time of the Predynastic Period, as the remains of baboon cults from that epoch confirm. In time, this primate came to represent a hypostasis, or manifestation, of Thoth, the god of writing and patron of scribes. One can, therefore, suggest that the mortise on the top of the head of our example was originally fitted with a headdress of a different material representing the sun disc framed by a crescent moon, which is the tradition emblem of that god in such representations.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 716 BC to 30 BC Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high x 2" (5.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Late Period Medium: Faience This important  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 716 BC to 30 BC Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high x 2" (5.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Late Period Medium: Faience This important work depicts a blue faience figure of a four-headed ram (sacred to the god Khnum) standing astride a rectangular base. The animal is powerfully built and well-modelled throughout. These figures are comparatively well known in the Late Period: the extract presented below provides more detailed information. Condition is excellent.   « Less

Egyptian Bronze Figure of Osiris - LO.1234 Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 10.825" (27.5cm) high Collection: Egyptian antiquities Medium: bronze

Egyptian Bronze Figure of Osiris - LO.1234 Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 10.825" (27.5cm) high Collection: Egyptian antiquities Medium: bronze   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1000 BC to 650 BC Dimensions: 10.5" (26.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Dynasty XXI-XXV Medium: Bronze This remarkably large  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1000 BC to 650 BC Dimensions: 10.5" (26.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Dynasty XXI-XXV Medium: Bronze This remarkably large image of Osiris, Lord of the Westerners, depicts the god in his characteristically tightly-fitting costume which is meant to recall mummy bandages tightly wrapped around the body in order to reveal its forms beneath. Both of the god’s fisted hands protrude from beneath these bandages which are placed on his abdomen with their knuckles touching. These hands originally held the crook and flail, traditional agricultural implements with which Osiris was associated. His accessories include a plaited false beard with a curved end and the tall, White Crown fronted by a uraeus, the body of which snakes its way along the front. The hollow eye sockets were, apparently, originally inlaid. Our statuette is in a remarkably excellent state of preservation and, to judge from its large size and style, can be dated to the Third Intermediate Period. This was an epoch during Egypt’s long history when the art of casting statuettes in bronze reach an apogee of technical perfection. Never before nor after were the ancient Egyptians to cast such technically accomplished, large scale metal sculptures. Their proficiency was so-well regarded that the ancient Greeks adopted the technology of casting bronze in the lost wax method from the Egyptians during the very period in which our example was cast. This was the period as well in which the cult of Osiris, as the consort of the goddess Isis, likewise rose to prominence. Sanctuaries dedicated to his honor at Karnak such as the Lake Edifice of Taharqa and the Temple of Osiris-Heka-Djed are still tangible reminders of the prominence of his cult during this time.   « Less

Origin: Egpyt Circa: 4 th Century AD to 5 th Century AD Dimensions: 22.25" (56.5cm) high x 27.20" (69.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art A late 4th/Early 5th Century AD  More »

Origin: Egpyt Circa: 4 th Century AD to 5 th Century AD Dimensions: 22.25" (56.5cm) high x 27.20" (69.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art A late 4th/Early 5th Century AD Coptic Textile panel in tapestry weave, with warp of natural linen and weft of various shades of brown, green, purple, red, and deep blue, the central element depicting the bust of a youth wearing a garment passing over his left shoulder and holding a duck in his arms, the border made in the early 20th Century of several disconnected Coptic textile medallions, probably from the same hanging as the figure, containing leafage and running lions and dogs. - (SP.111)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 BC to 200 AD Collection: Incantation Lead Scroll Style: Magical Text Medium: Lead Condition: Very Fine ‘Remain like stones, unmoving,  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 BC to 200 AD Collection: Incantation Lead Scroll Style: Magical Text Medium: Lead Condition: Very Fine ‘Remain like stones, unmoving, un-running’: another Greek spell against competitors in a foot-race* The magical tablet published here is a rectangle with rounded corners, 78 by 118 mm, cut from sheet lead c. 0.5 mm thick, one face of which has been inscribed with a very fine point. Slight corrugation and differential corrosion on the back suggest that it was originally rolled or folded, but the surface has not been stressed or cracked. It is complete except for the upper right-hand corner, about one-third of the right- hand edge with associated holes, a nick in the bottom, and two nicks in the left-hand edge. The resulting loss of text is quite small, and most of it can be restored. The upper two-thirds of the inscribed surface has been obscured by slight oxidation and corrosion products, but not so as to make the writing illegible. Overall this is well-preserved, and there are few difficulties. It consists of 33 lines of minute but well-formed Greek letters c. 2 mm high, which can be dated to the 4th century AD. This inscribed text is an elaborate binding spell repeated with variations four times, with intervening sequences of magical words (voces magicae). It is directed against three named athletes, Antiokhos, Hierax and Kastor, evidently runners, whose feet, sinews and other attributes are ‘bound’ so as to ensure their failure ‘in the stadium’. The tablet is said to have been found in Egypt, a provenance supported by its affinity with a lead tablet from Oxyrhynchus, ‘the only known applied spell of Egyptian provenance directed against athletes’. It is confirmed by the Egyptian names of the mothers of all three athletes.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 650 BC to 550 BC Dimensions: 54" (137.2cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Sarcophagus Fragment Medium: Wood Condition: Fine Isis is a  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 650 BC to 550 BC Dimensions: 54" (137.2cm) high Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Sarcophagus Fragment Medium: Wood Condition: Fine Isis is a goddess in Egyptian mythology. She was most prominent mythologically as the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, and was worshipped as the archetypical wife and mother. Her name literally means (female) of throne, i.e. Queen of the throne, which was portrayed by the emblem worn on her head, that of a throne. However, the hieroglyph of her name originally meant (female) of flesh, i.e. mortal, and she may simply have represented deified, historical queens. Her origins are uncertain but are believed to have come from the Nile Delta; however, unlike other Egyptian deities, she did not have a centralised cult at any point throughout her worship. First mentions of Isis date back to the Fifth dynasty of Egypt which is when the first literary inscriptions are found, but her cult became prominent late in Egyptian history, when it began to absorb the cults of many other goddesses. It eventually spread outside Egypt throughout the Middle East and Europe, with temples dedicated to her built as far away as the British Isles. Pockets of her worship remained in Christian Europe as late as the 6th century. - (FF.666)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high x 1.375" (3.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiqauities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Glass Perhaps no  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high x 1.375" (3.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiqauities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Glass Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of Egyptian belief in an afterlife. The two hoes clutched in the hands recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means "the answerer." The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here." The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in any given tomb. But by the New Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased, rather than as a substitute. Many have been found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. This particular ushabti, formed from a dark colored glass, is particularly rare, both in regards to the material and its hue. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (X.0066)   « Less

Circa: 1196 BC to 1070 BC Dimensions: 3.125" (7.9cm) wide Collection: New Kingdom Style: Dynasty XX Condition: Fine The beetle well-detailed with hatching on the legs  More »

Circa: 1196 BC to 1070 BC Dimensions: 3.125" (7.9cm) wide Collection: New Kingdom Style: Dynasty XX Condition: Fine The beetle well-detailed with hatching on the legs and fine incision for the wing case, the human head with a square chin, triangular nose and large spiraling ears, the eyes and brows deeply drilled for now-missing inlays, perforated below the ears for suspension, the underside inscribed with eleven lines of text, partly in heiroglyphs, partly in hieratic, with a form of chapter 30 from "The Book of the Dead", reading: 1) "O hut(?)-asha, 2)My heart of my mother (twice), My Heart 3)...do not stand up against me as a witness...4)[before] the lords of offerings, do not me, that he may make(?)...5)...against me, do not bring into being the ones who do things, do not...(or, in...) 6) (twice). Hail to you (O) Heart! Hail to you (O) gods 7)...who are at the head of the Long-Tressed Ones, sacred...8)...on the Dam-scepters. Recount ye my goodness to Re, 9) command ye me toheb-kau.Now I...10)...there/therein, without(?) allowing putrefaction to endure, that [I] may not 11)...things/offerings(?), thatmay live there/therein" - (DC.014)   « Less