“ Yes, wonderful things” Egyptian Art from 3000 – 100 �.�.
“Yes, wonderful things” Egyptian Art from 3000 – 100 �.�. including
The collection of Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910–99) CBE, FRS
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Foreword by Anthony Sattin
Egypt comes at each of us from a slightly different angle and it
more than we discover. This is perhaps the biggest surprise
sticks to us in different ways but we all share a sense of wonder.
Egypt has to offer, an engaging of the intellect, a sense of “ah,
My first encounters, more than thirty years ago, were sensual,
is that where it comes from?”, a realisation that even without
all about the way it felt, tasted and smelled. I remember the
our knowing it, Egypt’s long history and remarkable treasures
way the heat smacked as I stepped off the plane, the speed
have shaped our sense of what it means to be civilised, what is
and scale of movement as I headed into Cairo, the dazzle of
beautiful and what not.
all that light and life reflected in the dark water of the Nile. These impressions were embellished over the following days
Egypt was always famous for its knowledge, its religion
by wonder at the scale of the Giza pyramids and the beauty of
and its magic – our word alchemy is an Arabic corruption
treasures in the Tahrir museum, at the friendliness of Cairenes,
of the name ancient Egyptians gave their country, Kemet,
by the contortions of a belly dancer and by the puzzle of
al-Kemet, al-kemy. When medieval European apothecaries
a language I could not speak. It was, as Gustave Flaubert
dispensed mummia, ground down mummies as a cure-all,
described, like being thrown fast asleep into the middle of a
they did so believing they were sharing the power of that
Beethoven symphony and I loved it. So much so that before
knowledge, religion and magic. The transformative allure of
long I moved to Cairo, and that was when it changed.
ancient Egyptian artefacts is more potent than mummia. So when we look at an object from Egypt’s past, we recognise,
When the photographer Lee Miller was in Cairo in the 1930s,
instinctively if not consciously, that we are in the presence
during a brief marriage to an Egyptian bay, she took an image of
of something both exquisite and important, something that
the shadow cast by the Great Pyramid. That shadow expresses
pleases the senses at the same time as it engages the intellect
some of what has become an enduring fascination with Egypt:
and touches the spirit.
the way that shadow looms over the living reminds us that the past is not confined to monuments or to items in the museums.
Anthony Sattin is the author of several books on Egypt, including
It hangs around and above everyone and everything in Egypt.
The Pharaoh’s Shadow and A Winter on the Nile. His new book
Flaubert (again!) recognised that in Egypt we can rediscover
is Nomads, The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World.
1.
FLINT KNIFE
EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2600-2500 B.C. The curved blade with serrated edge, ripple-flaked on both sides. Length 23.2 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, Europe, acquired between 1975-83 COMMENT
This knife, showing few signs of use, would have been for ceremonial or ritual use. For similar examples see Catalogue Général des Antiquités Egyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Stone Implements, Cairo, 1913, pp. 253-255, nos. 64.750-64.768, pls. XLIV-LII; and W.M. Flinders Petrie, Abydos, part 1, London, 1902, pp. 10-11, pl. XVII, no. 40.
2.
PORPHYRITIC DIORITE PESTLE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA FOURTH MILLENNIUM B.C. Of elongated form, one side with six horizontal grooves, one end flattened. Length 12 cm. PROVENANCE
Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-96), Paris Dr Rudolph Schmidt (1900-70), Solothurn, 1953-70 Private collection, Switzerland, 1970-2014: Christie’s, London, 1 October 2014, lot 1 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22
3.
DIORITE FURNITURE FITTING
EGYPTIAN, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 712-30 B.C.
Of disc form, with rounded edges and a central circular hole, a smaller recess on the side. Width 12.5 cm. PROVENANCE
J.H.H. Claessen (1926-2008), Netherlands Private collection, London, 2008-22 COMMENT
Similar examples in various material including limestone and faience can be seen in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. See also Du Nil a l’Escaut, exhibition catalogue, Banque Brussels Lambert, Brussels, 1991, pp. 38-40.
4.
DIORITE PALETTE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA II, CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Of smooth rectangular form, with a concave depression. Length 13.5 cm. Width 10 cm. PROVENANCE
Dr Rudolph Schmidt (1900-70), Solothurn, 1953-70 Private collection, Switzerland, 1970-2014: Christie’s, London, 1 October 2014, lot 2 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22
5.
DIORITE PALETTE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA II CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Of smooth rectangular form. Length 13.5 cm. Width 10 cm. PROVENANCE
Dr Rudolph Schmidt (1900-70), Solothurn, 1954-70 Private collection, Switzerland, 1970-2014: Christie’s, London, 1 October 2014, lot 2 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22
6.
GREYWACKE FISH PALETTE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA II, CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Of compressed oval form, incised lines along the upper edge represent the dorsal fin, gills and tail similarly defined. Length 23.8 cm. Width 12 cm. PROVENANCE
Professor Dr Roland Bay (1909-92), Basel EXHIBITED
Geschenk des Nils. Aegyptische Kunstwerke aus Schweizer Besitz, Genève, Basel, Bern, Zürich, Luzern, 1978 PUBLISHED
H. Schlögl, Geschenk des Nils. Aegyptische Kunstwerke aus Schweizer Besitz, Basel, 1978, p. 18, no. 3
COMMENT
The original purpose of these palettes was practical providing a solid base for the grinding of kohl to be applied to the eyes for protection and many bear signs of wear from use, however, they developed an amuletic function. There was a ceremonial element to the grinding of pigments and representations of the equipment used would assume a symbolic role. Examples with drilled holes could have been worn as protective symbols or hung as votives. This palette is probably a stylised representation of the Nile perch (Talapia Nilotica) which was known as a symbol of regeneration and rebirth.
7.
GREYWACKE PALETTE IN THE FORM OF AN ANIMAL
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, EARLY NAQADA III, CIRCA 3200-3000 B.C. Scutiform, surmounted by a gazelle or an ibex. Length 26 cm. Width 15 cm. PROVENANCE
Pierre (1900-93) or Claude (1929-2018) Vérité, Paris; acquired between 1930 and 1960 COMMENT
A related example is in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (acc. no. A.1921.83345) and for a similar example, see D.C. Patch, Dawn of Egyptian Art, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2012, p. 44, no. 35.
8.
GREYWACKE PALETTE DEPICTING A NILE SCENE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA II, CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Surmounted by a bird, a crocodile along the edge. Length 11 cm. Width 9 cm. PROVENANCE
Pierre (1900-93) or Claude (1929-2018) Vérité, Paris: acquired between 1930 and 1960 COMMENT
The combination of bird and crocodile is rare. An example of a double crocodile palette can be seen in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge (acc. no. Z 15798).
9.
PORPHYRITIC DIORITE JAR
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD - 1ST DYNASTY CIRCA 3500-2700 B.C. Of ovoid form with contoured foot, tubular handles and fragmentary everted rim. Height 15 cm. PROVENANCE
Royall Tyler (1884-1953), Paris William Royall Tyler (1910-2003), USA , 1953-2003 Private collection, New England, 2003-11: Sotheby’s, New York, 8 December 2011, lot 38 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2011-22 COMMENT
Royall Tyler (1884–1953) was an American art historian and diplomat who spent most of his life in Europe, based in Paris. A specialist in Byzantine art, he advised Mildred and Robert Bliss on a number of acquisitions for their collection at Dumbarton Oaks. In the 1920s and 30s he assembled his collection of Egyptian, Persian and Byzantine art, first visiting Egypt in January 1927. It is likely he acquired most of his collection through Dikran Kelekian, Joseph Brummer and the Kalebdjians, all of whom he dealt with extensively in his business with the Blisses. For a similar example, see W.M. Flinders Petrie, Naqada and Ballas, London, 1896, pl. 8, 43.
10. BRECCIA TWIN-HANDLED VASE EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3500-3000 B.C. Of ovoid form with tubular handles and ridged base. Height 9.2 cm. PROVENANCE
Sayad Mullattan, Luxor, 1950 Private collection, New York: Sotheby’s, New York, 13 December 1979, lot 60 Robin Symes, London, 1979-82 Jacques Carré, Belgium, 1982-2018
11.
BRECCIA TWIN-HANDLED VASE
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3500-3000 B.C. Of ovoid form with tubular handles and ridged base. Height 8.8 cm. PROVENANCE
Sayad Mullattan, Luxor, 1950 Private collection, New York: Sotheby’s, New York, 13 December 1979, lot 61 Private collection, London, 1979-2016
12.
BASALT TWIN-HANDLED VASE
EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2900 B.C. Of ovoid form, with tubular handles and ridged base. Height 6.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Robert (Bob) Taylor, New York, 1960s-70s Ron Braddish, New York, early 1970s-2011: Arte Primitivo, New York, 8 December 2011, lot 271 Art market, London, 2011-2012 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2012-22
13.
SCHIST OFFERING TRAY
EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3100-2800 B.C. The shallow oval dish standing on four circular feet. Length 44 cm. Width 27 cm.
PUBLISHED
Egypte Eender en Anders, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, 1984, pp. 49-50, no. 66
PROVENANCE
René Withofs, (1919-97), Brussels, 1981 Guy Weill-Goudchaux, (1931-2014), London, 1981-2014 Private collection, London, 2014-22 EXHIBITED
Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam, exhibition catalogue, 1984
COMMENT
It has been suggested that this dish could represent the belly of a hippopotamus. See A. el-Khouli, Egyptian Stone Vessels, Mainz, 1978, vol. 2, p. 706, pl. 126, no. 5466, for a similar example in alabaster from Saqqara.
14. POTTERY JAR EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAGADA II CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Of ovoid form, painted in reddish-brown with contoured foot, tubular handles and everted rim. Decorated with a multi-oared boat on each side, a palm branch at the prow and two cabins on the deck, the water underneath indicated by lines, fan shapes and “s” symbols under the handles, concentric circles on the base. Height 11.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, Chatham, New York, 1946-2010: Sotheby’s, New York, 11 June 2010, lot 2 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2010-22 COMMENT
For a similar example see W. Needler, Predynastic and Archaic Art in The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, 1984, nos. 57 and 58, and J. Crowfoot Payne, Catalogue of the Predynastic Egyptian Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1993, figs. 39 and 40.
15.
POTTERY JAR
EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAGADA II, CIRCA 3600-3200 B.C. Of ovoid form, with flat rim and lug handles. Decorated in red with a central band of gazelles above a band of flamingos, hatched panels above and concentric circles around the base. Diameter 24 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, UK, pre-1960-2015: Bonhams, London, 2 October 2014, lot 158 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22
COMMENT
For a similar example see E. Godet et al, A Private Collection, Weert, 1975, no. 8; J. Crowfoot Payne, Catalogue of the Predynastic Egyptian Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1993, p. 108, no. 871, fig. 44; W. M. Flinders Petrie, Corpus of Prehistoric Pottery and Palettes, London, 1921, pl. XXXIV, 49 and M. Page-Gasser & A. Wiese, Agypten, Augenblicke der Ewigkeit, Umbekannte Schatze aus Schweizer Privatbesitz, exhibition catalogue, Mainz, 1997, p. 37, no. 16
16.
LIMESTONE RELIEF WITH A HIGH OFFICIAL NAMED AS KHAFRE-ANKH, KEEPER OF THE [ROYAL] DIADEM
EGYPTIAN, OLD KINGDOM, 5TH-6TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 2520-2195 B.C. Wearing a short curled wig, chin beard and holding a staff. Length 16 cm. Height 13 cm. PROVENANCE
Antiken-Auktion, Zurich, 16 April 1971, lot 220 Werner Coninx (1911-80), Zurich, 1971-2002 Private collection, UK, 2002-22 COMMENT
The tomb of Khafre-Ankh was discovered at Giza by Auguste Mariette in 1860 and is recorded by B. Porter and R.L.B. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, Memphis, part 1, Oxford, 1974, pp. 277-8.
17.
WOOD STRIDING MALE FIGURE
EGYPTIAN, OLD KINGDOM, 5TH-6TH DYNASTY CIRCA 2520-2195 B.C. Wearing a kilt with central tab and wig with echeloned rectangular curls, with traces of polychrome. Height 46.5 cm.
PROVENANCE
Possibly Reverend William MacGregor (1842-1937), UK: Sotheby’s, London, MacGregor Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, 26 June-3 July 1922, lot 598 or 600 Joseph Altounian (1889-1954), Altounian-Lorbet Gallery, Mâcon, France Jacqueline Altounian-Lorbet, Mâcon, France Private collection, France, 1967-2019
18. GREEN GLAZED FAIENCE FRAGMENT FROM A CHALICE EGYPTIAN, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA 1075-716 B.C. With Bes holding papyrus stems next to another figure, fish swimming below and a papyrus flower in the lower register. Height 6.5 cm. Width 4 cm. PROVENANCE
Art market, Paris, 1977 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 1977-2022 COMMENT
For a related example see G.A.D. Tait, “The Egyptian Relief Chalice,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 49, 1963, p. 127, no. XL, pl. XXII, 3.
19.
BLUE GLAZED FAIENCE FRAGMENT FROM A VESSEL EGYPTIAN, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA 1075-716 B.C. With a harp player and a female dancer. Height 2.6 cm. Width 2.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Lily S. Place (1857-1929), London and Paris Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1927 (acc. no. 27.41.164), 1927-58 Leopold Blumka, Blumka Gallery, New York, 1958 Christie’s, London, 13 July 1983, lot 397 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 1983-2022
20. WHITE GLAZED FAIENCE FRAGMENT FROM A CHALICE EGYPTIAN, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA 1075-716 B.C. The central register with a fragmentary male figure holding a prisoner by the hair and about to strike him with a club, to the right a male figure wearing a kilt and a crown, to the other side an enthroned king holds a crook. A register of a vulture and other birds above and papyrus flower below. Height 5 cm. Width 5.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, Japan: Sotheby’s, New York, 12 June 2001, lot 326 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2001-22 COMMENT
For related examples in blue faience see F. D. Friedman, ed., Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience, Providence, 1998, no. 116 (king smiting prisoner) and no. 117 (swamp scene). Also compare Egyptian Art at Eton College, Windsor, 1999, nos. 53 and 54.
21.
PALE BLUE-GREEN GLAZED FAIENCE FRAGMENT FROM A VESSEL
EGYPTIAN, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD CIRCA 1075-716 B.C.
Decorated in two registers, the upper with a striding figure and a leonine animal, the lower with a goose and lotus blossoms, palmettes in high relief below. Height 7.8 cm. Width 7.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Probably Reverend William MacGregor (1848-1937), UK Alphonse Kann (1870-1948), Saint-Germain-en-Laye Hélène Kann Bokanowski: Art Curial, Paris, 22 February 2017, lot. 2 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2017-22 PUBLISHED
H. Wallis, The MacGregor collection; a contribution towards the history of Egyptian pottery, London, 1898, p. 85, fig. 186 COMMENT
There is a letter in the Brummer Archive from Ernest Brummer to Joseph Brummer, dated 18 November 1934, which says that “Alphonse Kann searches and buys beautiful pieces of EgyptianRoman faience throughout Paris and it is said that he has an American museum as a client”.
22. TURQUOISE GLAZED STEATITE FROG AMULET EGYPTIAN, NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1540-1069 B.C. Seated on its haunches with rear legs folded behind him, the body incised with lines, a Hathor-headed sistrum flanked by two uraei incised on the base, with suspension hole. Length 1.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Hermione Waterfield, London, 2005-22 COMMENT
Due to its lifecycle the frog became a symbol of creation and regeneration, a belief that they reproduced spontaneously strengthened the power of this symbolism. The frog was most commonly associated with Hekat, the consort of the creator god Khnum and personification of childbirth, consequently ring bezels and amulets in their form were popular talismans and votive offerings to ensure fertility and safe delivery. Interestingly in Christian Egypt the frog was retained as a Coptic symbol of rebirth.
23. GREEN GLAZED STEATITE SCARAB EGYPTIAN, REIGN OF HATSHEPSHUT, 18TH DYNASTY CIRCA 1473-1458 B.C. With the prenomen of Queen Hatshepshut flanked by cobras, each head surmounted by a solar disc, a winged sun-disc with pendant cobras above. Length 1.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Bedelle Inc. Boston, 1967 Private collection, New England, 1967-2014: Christie’s, New York, 11 December 2014, lot 231 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22 COMMENT
An extremely popular amulet, the scarab symbolized rebirth through its association with the rising sun. The insect’s habit of rolling a ball of dung was seen as a metaphor for the god Khepri pushing the sun into the heavens each morning and the emergence of the young beetles from the dung ball reinforced the impression of rebirth from the decay of death. Due to the strength of this association these were one of the most important funerary amulets, usually placed in prime position over the heart, but were also worn by the living often forming the bezel of a ring.
24. AN EGYPTIAN GOLD REVIVAL DEMI-PARURE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY Comprising a necklace, a pair of earrings, three brooches and a gold pin. The necklace with four ancient scarabs, one with a standing god holding a was sceptre, another with a seated human-headed sphinx with wings, New Kingdom, circa 1550-1075 B.C., one of the earrings with an ancient scarab with scrolls, Middle Kingdom, circa 2055-1650 B.C., one of the brooches with an ancient scarab with interlocking patterns, Middle Kingdom, circa 2055-1650 B.C.; and the smaller brooch with a hedgehog amulet with interlocking pattern, Second Intermediate Period, circa 1650-1550 B.C. PROVENANCE
S.J. Phillips, London, 1970s-80s Diana Scarisbrick, London, 1970s-80s-2022
COMMENT
The archaeological discoveries of the 19th century, the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advancement of the travel industry, saw the romance of ancient Egypt seep into the European imagination. As museums began to display Egyptian artefacts and with the British control of Egypt in the 1880s, a revival of the ancient style began to develop. Motifs including obelisks, sphinxes, pyramids, palmettes and papyrus leaves were used in furniture, statuary and objet d’art as well as interiors. Jewellery designers such as John Brogden, Cartier, Alessandro Castellani and Giacinto Melillo began to incorporate ancient artefacts such as amulets and scarabs made of faience or semiprecious stones into necklaces, earrings and brooches; a fashion that continued to be popular well into the Art Deco period.
25. LARGE YELLOW GLAZED DJED-PILLAR AMULET EGYPTIAN, 26TH-30TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-332 B.C. Of slender tapering form, with ribbed capital surmounted by four crossbars and a rectangular back pillar. Height 12.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, England: Christie’s, London, 29 October 2003, lot 226 Private collection, London, 2003-19 COMMENT
The djed-pillar is the hieroglyph for stability. It may have originally represented a tree with its branches cut off or a pole around which grain was tied but it came to be looked upon as a representation of the backbone of the god Osiris as made clear in the Book of the Dead. Chapter 155 refers to the placing of this amulet at the throat of the deceased to ensure stability and endurance. For a similar example, see S. D’Auria, P. Lacovara & C. Roehrig, Mummies and Magic, Boston, 1988, p. 181.
26. GREEN GLAZED FAIENCE SHABTI
FIGURE FOR PAKHAAS
EGYPTIAN, 30TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 380-342 B.C. Wearing a braided false beard curled, striated tripartite wig and carrying the pick and flail and seed bag over his shoulder. With nine bands of text. An old collection label attached to the back pillar reading “.. found in….. Catacombs & Pyramids …. Were placed in the coffins with the Mummy. It is supposed that the ….”. Height 20 cm. PROVENANCE
Rockford College, Illinois, USA Private collection, Switzerland, 2007-21 COMMENT
These funerary figures were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased in the afterlife, to carry out the manual work required to produce food. Ushabti translates as ‘answerer’ and it was their responsibility to answer the call to work on behalf of the tomb owner, a duty referred to in Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead which is often inscribed on the figures. They can take many forms but the faience mummiform examples, particularly the fine models from the 26th-30th Dynasties, are perhaps the most easily recognizable and the large numbers required for each tomb (the ideal number came to be regarded as 401 – one for each day of the year plus an overseer for each group of 10) means that they are the most common type of artefact from ancient Egypt. Appealing in their simplicity of form they are also crucial to the understanding of the ancient Egyptians belief in the afterlife. For a similar shabti figure, see J.F. Aubert, Statuettes egyptiennes, Paris, 1974, pl. 64, fig. 152.
27. GLAZED STEATITE STAMP SEAL IN THE FORM OF A SMALL BOY MIDDLE KINGDOM, 11TH-12TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 2040-1801 B.C. The small boy depicted naked with bald head, legs curled up against rounded stomach and his feet flat on the integral base, left hand rests on knee, index finger of right hand held up to his mouth, quadrangular base with rounded edges engraved with four interlinking scrolls and a nefer-sign. Height 4 cm. PROVENANCE
Raymond Heck, La Hulpe, acquired before 1970 Private collection, Belgium Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2014-22
COMMENT
This statuette belongs to a small but distinctive group depicting shaven-headed boys, made in different materials, including wood, bronze and stone. Some with side locks and with the right index fingers raised to their mouths. For a similar example see A. Wiese, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig. Die Agyptische Abteilung, Mainz, 2001, pp. 7071, no. 16.; and for a similar example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see A. Oppenheim et al. (eds.), Ancient Egypt Transformed, the Middle Kingdom, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2015, p. 203, no. 135
28. GLAZED STEATITE PROFILE HEAD OF AN ASIATIC EGYPTIAN, NEW KINGDOM, 18TH-19TH DYNASTY CIRCA 1540-1186 B.C. Bearded, with full lips, straight nose, high cheekbones and wearing hoop earrings. Height 2.7 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, Europe, acquired between 1975-83 Peter Sharrer, New Jersey, USA, 2015-22 COMMENT
It is hard to determine what this fragment may have been from; possibly a counterpoise or maybe from a double-sided ritual spoon. For an example of such a spoon with an Asiatic carrying a jar see Egypt’s Golden Age. The Art of Living in the New Kingdom 1558-1085 B.C., exhibition catalogue, Boston, 1982, pp. 208-209, no. 245.
29. INDURATED LIMESTONE FRAGMENT OF A
DOUBLE-SIDED SCULPTOR’S MODEL
EGYPTIAN, PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 332-30 B.C. Each side with a head facing right, one with a crown and uraeus. Height 8.6 cm. Width 5.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Alfred E. Mirsky (1900-74), New York: sold Christie’s, New York, 20 June 2006, lot 1258 Private collection, Belgium, 2006-22
COMMENT
Alfred E. Mirsky was a leading biochemist and physiologist at Rockefeller University from 1927 until his death in 1974. Archaeology and numismatics were life-long passions and he was well known to dealers in both America and Europe for his taste and expertise. On his death his collection was bequeathed to Rockefeller University but later sold to benefit the Graduate Student program. Sculptor’s models or trial pieces are terms use to describe a group of small scale Egyptian sculpture dating to the fourth-third century B.C. Usually made of plaster or limestone; some marked with grid lines they depict standing or seated figures, both royal and non-royal. See C.C. Edgar, Catalogue Général des Antiquités Egyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Sculptors Studies and unfinished Works, Cairo, 1906.
30. BRONZE SHREW EGYPTIAN, 26TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-525 B.C. Standing on a rectangular base, with long straight tail and tapering snout with engraved mouth, a winged sun-disc and vultures engraved on the back with traces of a winged divinity on his hind quarters. Length 15.3 cm. PROVENANCE
Joseph Ternbach (1898-1982), New York: Sotheby’s, New York, 24 November 1987, lot 40 European private collection, 1987-2016 Private collection, London, 2016-22 PUBLISHED
Animal Art from the Ancient Near East, exhibition catalogue, Queen’s College, New York, 1968, no. 5 (unillustrated) EXHIBITED
Art Center/Paul Klapper Library, Queen’s College, New York, November-December 1968 The Israel Museum, The Joseph Ternbach Collection, 1981-82
31.
BRONZE MNEVIS BULL
EGYPTIAN, 26TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-525 B.C. Standing on a rectangular base, with long tail and dewlap, the sun disc between its horns with uraeus, the body with incised cross-hatched tasselled blanket on its back. Height including tang 14 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, France: Hôtel Drouot (Piasa), Paris, 13 April 2005, lot 358 Art market, London, 2005-06 Private collection, Switzerland, 2006-22
32. BRONZE FIGURE OF A CAT EGYPT, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-332 B.C. The elegant feline seated gracefully on its haunches, its long tail curling around the right side of its body. Height including tang 17 cm. PROVENANCE
Charles Ratton, Paris, 1950 Jacques-René Fiechter, (1894-1981), Switzerland Private collection, Switzerland, 2010-20 COMMENT
Jacques-René Fiechter, a Swiss poet, was Director of the Swiss School in Alexandria and Professor at the University of Alexandria from the early 1920s. He returned to Switzerland in 1950. Cats were the sacred animal of the goddess Bastet, who was based at Bubastis in the eastern Delta. Mummified cats, often encased in wood or bronze were dedicated to her and placed in tombs and buried in her temples. The bronze examples, of which many were produced, come in a range of size and quality and this example is elegantly proportioned, of high quality and a good size.
33. BRONZE CAT EGYPTIAN, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 664-30 B.C. Hollow cast, seated on its haunches in an alert pose, the front paws together, the tail wrapped around the right side of the body, with scarab on the top of her head, elaborate necklace and facial details incised, ears pierced for earrings. Height including tang 17 cm. PROVENANCE
James Bomford (1896-1979), London: Sotheby’s, London, 8 December 1970, lot 217 Private collection, London, 1970-2009 Private collection, Switzerland, 2009-22 EXHIBITED
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 10-30 October 1966 PUBLISHED
Exhibition of Ancient Persian Bronzes and other selected items of Ancient Art, Oxford, 1966, no. 190 COMMENT
James Bomford (1896-1979) was one of the most important, yet largely unrecognised, art collectors of the 20th century. In the 1930s he collected Modern Art, later donating twenty one works to the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery; during the 1940s he acquired about sixty paintings by Francis Bacon, all of which he later sold. The 1960s-70s saw him become a major collector of antiquities; many of which he bequeathed to the Ashmolean and the Bristol Museums. The seated cat, the archetypal image of Egyptian art, represents the goddess Bastet, royal protector and defender against evil spirits and contagious diseases. Highly revered throughout Egypt, it was at Bubastis that her worshippers came together annually to honour this immensely popular deity. According to Herodotus, each year on the day of her festival the town
attracted some 700,000 visitors who arrived in numerous crowded ships. Most examples of the seated cat date from the Late Period, 26th-30th Dynasty, 664-342 BC, when there was a conscious revival of the worship of the most ancient Egyptian deities and the cult of Bastet was at its peak. These bronze cats were created as votive offerings donated by pious worshippers.
34. GRANITE FRAGMENT FROM A RELIEF EGYPTIAN, PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 304-30 B.C. Carved in shallow relief with the head of a queen or goddess, facing right, in profile, wearing a robe with narrow raised collar and tripartite wig with vulture head-dress. Height 19.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Werner Coninx (1911-80), Zurich, 1971-2002 Private collection, UK, 2002-22 COMMENT
Werner Coninx was born into one of the leading and influential publishing and newspaper families in Switzerland. He built up a significant art collection, largely of Swiss art but also paintings by Gustave Klimt and Egon Schiele as well as African, Chinese, Indian and Egyptian antiquities.
35. GREYWACKE INSCRIBED STATUE BASE EGYPTIAN, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C. From a striding figure. Inscribed in relief on the sides with two lines of hieroglyphic text. Length 25 cm. Width 12.6 cm. Height 10 cm.
PUBLISHED
PROVENANCE
COMMENT
Private collection, Germany, acquired in Zurich in 1992: Cahn Aucktionen, Basel, 19 November 2014, no.88 Art market, Paris, 2014-15 Private collection, Belgium, 2015-22
Based on compelling evidence, Olivier Perdu identifies the owner of the statue with Ophellas of Cyrene, the Macedonian general whom Ptolemy I appointed as governor of Cyrene ca. 322 and whose misadventures were later chronicled by Diodorus of Sicily.
O. Perdu, “Un témoignage aussi direct qu’inattendu sur Ophellas de Cyrène”, Ancient Society, vol. 51, 2021, pp.15-49
36. SERPENTINE MALE FIGURE FROM A PAIR
OR GROUP STATUE
26TH-27TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 550-404 B.C. Wearing a finely pleated kilt with broad inscribed belt and wide rounded wig falling onto his shoulders, the face with smiling mouth and outlined lips, large wide-set eyes with cosmetic lines in relief, two columns of hieroglyphic text on the back inscribed for Khahatyerbastet (‘My heart belongs to Bastet’). Height: 19.4 cm. PROVENANCE
Hatchik Sevadjian (fl. 1884-1933): Sotheby’s, London, 20-21 May 1930, lot 280 Asscher & Welker, Duke Street Anonymous collection: Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 1971, lot 22 J.C. Roper, 1971-99: Sotheby’s, New York, 5 June 1999, lot 62 Private collection, Europe, 1999-2013 Private collection, UK, 2013-22 Hatchik Sevadjian was born in Istanbul in 1884. His father, a goldsmith at the Sultan’s court, moved with his family to Antwerp in 1897 before settling, as a dealer, in Paris in 1902. Hatchik followed his father into the business becoming a connoisseur art dealer, dealing in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Indian antiquities, as well as 19th-century French painters, such as Delacroix, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Courbet, Van Gogh, and Pissarro. In 1930, he offered anonymously part of his antiquities collection at Sotheby’s in London under the general designation “The Property of a Collector”.
37. GRANITE OBELISK EGYPTIAN, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 712-30 B.C. Of quadrangular slightly tapering form, with a pyramidal top. Height 31.7 cm. PROVENANCE
Art Market, USA: Sotheby’s, New York, 12 December 1991, lot 43 Bonham’s, London, 4 July 1996, lot 415 Anne-Paul Brinkman, Netherlands, 1996-2002: Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 17 September 2002, lot 181 Art market, London, 2002 George Ortiz (1927-2013), Geneva, 2002-11 Private collection, New York, 2011-22 COMMENT
The obelisk is another iconic Egyptian form. These tall, needleshaped monuments were a prominent feature of ancient Egyptian architecture and, from the New Kingdom, pairs were erected in front of the pylons at temple entrances. All are foursided, tapering gently from base to tip with the point carved as a pyramidion or Benben, also the capstone of every pyramid. This shape is intended to represent the mound which emerged from the primordial waters on which the god Atum stood at the creation of the world. Monumental examples were raised to honour the gods, particularly the sun god Ra, and in recognition of a Pharoah’s accomplishments. Smaller examples may have had a funerary purpose as symbols of rebirth. For an obelisk dated to the Middle Kingdom, 13th Dynasty for Amenemhat, 1786-1650 B.C. see J. Bourriau, with a contribution by S. Quirke, Pharaohs and Mortals. Egyptian Art in the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge, 1988, pp. 66-67, no. 52.
38. POLYCHROME WOOD MUMMY MASK EGYPTIAN, 22ND-25TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 944-700 B.C. The oval face with almond-shaped eyes, the upper rims and eyebrows and cosmetic lines carved in shallow relief, with a striped wig, with the remains of black and white pigment and traces of blue on the eyes and cosmetic lines. Height 24.1 cm. PROVENANCE
Thomas M. Messer (1920-2013), New York: Sotheby’s, New York, 12 December 2013, lot 16 Art market, London, 2013-18 Private collection, UK, 2018-22 COMMENT
Thomas M. Messer was born in Czechoslovakia, into a cultured family of musicians and art historians. Fleeing Czechoslovakia in September 1939, he went first to England and then later to America. After the war he studied art at the Sorbonne in Paris, before returning to America in 1947. From 1961 until 1987 he was Director of the Guggenheim Museum and it was under his leadership, and due no doubt to his charm and diplomacy as well as his expertise and passion, that Peggy Guggenheim donated her collection to the Foundation in New York rather than to the Tate Gallery in London.
39. GRANODIORITE FRAGMENT FROM
A HEAD OF AMUN
EGYPTIAN, 18TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1540-1295 B.C. The right of the head preserved with chin strap, elongated cosmetic lines and remains of the feathered crown. Height 25 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, France: Hôtel Drouot (Laurent Guilloux Buffetaud), Paris, 28 May 1993, lot 157bis Martin Chapoux, Paris, 1993-2015 Art market, Paris, 2015-16 Private collection, Belgium, 2016-22
COMMENT
For a complete head of Amun, dated to the reign of Tutankhamun (circa 1346-1337 B.C.), now in NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, see M. Jorgensen, Catalogue of Egypt II, Copenhagen, 1998, p. 60-1.
40. BASALT FIGURE OF HORUS EGYPTIAN, PTOLEMAIC PERIOD CIRCA 332-30 B.C. Carved on an integral base, the standing figure with puffed chest, wings crossed at the back. Height 43.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, France, before 1980 Art market, Geneva, until 1999 Art market, Paris, 1999-2004 Private collection, Belgium, 2004-22
41. INDURATED LIMESTONE BLOCK STATUE EGYPTIAN, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD CIRCA 1075-716 B.C. Representing a squatting man, his arms crossed on his knees, wearing a bag wig. Height 32 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, France: Hôtel Drouot, (Olivier CoutauBegarie), Paris, 1 July 1998, lot 74 Private collection, Paris: Hôtel Drouot, (Choppin de Janvry & Associes), 6 June 2005, lot 50 Private collection, Belgium, 2005-22
COMMENT
This distinct form of ancient Egyptian sculpture was introduced in the Middle Kingdom, its popularity growing from the New Kingdom through the later periods as the model provided large surface areas for inscriptions. Private individuals were represented in a squatting position with arms folded on top of the knees which are drawn up beneath the chin. They were typically employed as funerary monuments and New Kingdom texts suggest they were intended to present important persons as guardians at temple gateways.
42. LARGE FRAGMENTARY GRANODIORITE SPHINX EGYPTIAN, PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 300 B.C. The reclining figure, back legs tucked beneath the body, the front legs extended, tail curled around the haunches, lappets of the wig hanging down the chest. Length 83 cm. Height 42 cm. PROVENANCE
Private collection, UK: Sotheby’s, London, 8 December 1980, lot 138 Private collection, London, 1980-2022 PUBLISHED
J. Malek, et al. Provenance Not Known, part I, Oxford, 1999, p. 174, no. 800-881-198 COMMENT
The Great Sphinx of Giza is the emblem of Egypt, frequently appearing on stamps, coins and official documents. Clearly this mythical creature, typically combining the body of a lion with the head of a man, had an important role in the world of the ancient Egyptian. It is thought that the origin of the name is the phrase shesep ankh, ‘living image’ and the figures were viewed as the incarnation of royal power and a link between the sungod, Ra-Horakhty, and the Pharaoh. Processional avenues of sphinxes were common features at major sacred sites acting as benevolent guardians of the temples. Sculptures of sphinxes, both historically important such as the sphinx with the head of Hatshepshut and more anonymous ones, were brought in large quantities from Egypt to Italy for use as decoration; a magnificent and exotic addition to any collection.
Egyptian Art from the Collection of Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Sir Christopher Cockerell was born on 4 June 1910 in Cambridge, the son of Sir Sydney Cockerell, the dynamic Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and Florence Kate Kingsford, known for her much-collected illuminated manuscripts and who had been employed in 1904 by William Flinders Petrie in Egypt to make drawings of his discoveries. Having read mechanical engineering at Cambridge University, Cockerell returned to research radio and electronics, later joining the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. At just twenty seven he was made Technical Head of the Aircraft Research and Development Section taking out 36 patents in the field of radio and television during and after the war. His next move in 1948 was to boat design and it was in December 1955 that he took out a patent, the first of 59, to cover what he described as “neither an aeroplane nor a boat nor a wheeled-land vehicle” – the hovercraft which is now used worldwide in over seventy countries. Although best remembered for the invention of the hovercraft, Sir Christopher did, in fact, have nearly a hundred patents to his name earning him a place amongst the great British inventors and engineers of the twentieth century. Despite engineering being an all-consuming innate part of his life he was a man of many talents and interests which included chess, music, fishing, wine, photography, sailing and a love for antiquities. His father had been a friend of Captain George Spencer-Churchill and as a boy Christopher often stayed on his own at Northwick Park. In later life he would reminisce about the ‘long table’ displaying Spencer-Churchill’s many Greek, Roman, Near East and Egyptian antiquities. It would be fair to say that
Sir Christopher and Lady Cockerell outside the Temple of Hatshepshut, Valley of the Kings, 1965. © Cockerell Archive.
these childhood visits were the inspiration behind his own collection, which included Greek and Roman antiquities as well
In 2004, an Attic red figure cup by the Dokiamasia Painter, circa
as Egyptian pieces which he was able to buy from the Northwick
480 B.C. from his collection, now known as the Cockerell Cup,
Park sale and are being offered for sale in this catalogue.
was acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum.
43. TERRACOTTA TWIN-HANDLED VESSEL EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3200-3000 B.C. With four registers of gazelles, ibexes and flamingos, with bands of cross-hatching. Height 7.1 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 96 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
COMMENT
Edward George Spencer-Churchill, a cousin of Winston Churchill, was born in London in 1876. As a child, due to ill-health, he was dispatched to Egypt, an experience which sparked a lifelong interest and passion in not only Egypt but all ancient cultures. In 1912 aged 36 he inherited Northwick Park in Gloucestershire from his maternal grandmother, which included over four hundred paintings to which he was able to add his own, not-inconsiderable, collection. As well as paintings there were the antiquities, which he had begun acquiring years before with all the enthusiasm and zeal of the Victorian: Minoan, Greek, Etruscan and Roman not to mention Egyptian. Glass cases filled with Egyptian faience and stoneware around the walls and over two hundred bronzes stood on the vast table once owned by Warren Hastings. It must have been this table which the young Christopher Cockerell looked upon when staying at Northwick Park so often as a child.
44. BRECCIA DISH EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3000-2800 B.C. Of shallow form standing on a ring-base. Diameter 10.6 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 113 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
45. BRECCIA TWIN-HANDLED FLASK EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2800 B.C. Of lentoid form, the tubular handles horizontally pierced, with flat flaring rim, (with a modern gold mount). Height 6.6 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 104 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022 COMMENT
See W.M. Flinders Petrie, Naqada and Ballas, London, 1974, pl. XII, no. 71-72.
46. DIORITE JAR EGYPTIAN, EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2700-2600 B.C. With rounded shoulders, folded rim and flattened base. Diameter 9.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 125 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022 PUBLISHED
J. Garstang, Tombs of the Third Egyptian Dynasty at Reqâqnah and Bêt Khallaf, London, 1904, pl. 7, no. 1 and 6.
47. DIORITE PALETTE Art market, London (possibly EGYPTIAN, MIDDLE KINGDOM, CIRCA 1975-1640 B.C.
Spink & Son), 1960s
Of rectangular form, with tapering sides and a rectangular depression on the top. Length 11.8 cm. Width 8 cm. PROVENANCE
Art market, London (possibly Spink & Son), 1960s Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Private collection, England, 1991-2022 COMMENT
For a related example see J. Bourriau, Pharoahs and Mortals, Egyptian art in the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge, 1988, p. 145, no. 152
48. CALCITE TWIN-HANDLED JAR EGYPTIAN, PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3300-3000 B.C. With two horizontally-pierced handles. Height 8 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 105 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
49. ALABASTER FLASK EGYPTIAN, 19TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1292-1186 B.C. Of pear-shaped form with short neck and horizontal rim, the base flat. Height 9 cm. PROVENANCE
Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill, M.C., (1876-1964): Christie’s, Northwick Park Collection, 21 June 1965, lot 142 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022 COMMENT
See J. Vandier d’Abbadie, Catalogue des objets de toilette egyptien, Paris, 1971, p. 83, no. 304
50. WOOD SHABTI FIGURE EGYPTIAN, NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1540-1075 B.C. Standing, mummiform, the arms crossed, wearing a sash kilt. Height 23 cm.
PROVENANCE
Anonymous collection: Sotheby’s, London, 14 January 1969, lot 136 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1969-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
51.
FRAGMENTARY WOOD FEMALE FIGURE
EGYPTIAN, 18TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1540-1292 B.C. Standing, her arm by her side, hair falling either side of her face, eyes originally inlaid. Height 23 cm. PROVENANCE
Art market, London (possibly Spink & Son), 1960s Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Private collection, England, 1991-2022
52. GROUP OF COLOURED GLAZED FAIENCE BEADS EGYPTIAN, NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1540-1075 B.C. Restrung in two registers, the palm leaf and floral rosette amulets interspersed with small turquoise and yellow faience beads and carnelian discs.
PROVENANCE
Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Private collection, England, 1991-2022
53. DARK TURQUOISE FAIENCE CUP EGYPTIAN, NEW KINGDOM, CIRCA 1540-1075 B.C. With concave sides and flattened rim, pointed lotus leaves painted in black. Height 5 cm. PROVENANCE
Anonymous collection: Sotheby’s, London, 29 November 1965, lot 146 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1965-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
54. LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A BABOON EGYPTIAN, LATE PERIOD, CIRCA 712-30 B.C. The heavily mantled figure with his front paws resting on his knees. Wearing a pectoral around his neck with an ibis and a headdress in the form of a crescent moon and disc. The back with a single column of hieroglyphs with an address to the god identified but not named by a list of epithets “twice great, lord of Khemenu (Ashmunein), scribe of the Maat of the gods, great one, ?Lord”. Height 10 cm. PROVENANCE
Art market, London (possibly Spink & Son), 1960s Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Private collection, England, 1991-2022
COMMENT
The baboon was the sacred animal of the moon god Thoth whose official place of worship was at Hermopolis. Thoth was also the messenger of the gods, the inventor of writing and protector of scribes and officials. For a similar example with an inscription to the scribe of the city of Chemennu (Hermopolis) in the Hilton Price collection, see A Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Possession of H. G. Hilton Price, London, 1897, p.320, no.2688.
55. STEATITE COSMETIC DISH IN THE FORM OF A BOUND ORYX EGYPTIAN, 18TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1540-1292 B.C. The body hollowed out for the bowl and the legs bound together by rope. The horn, hooves and binding well modelled. Length 13 cm. PROVENANCE
Art market, London (possibly Spink & Son), 1960s Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS Private collection, England, 1991-2022
COMMENT
For similar examples see Egypt’s Golden Age, The Art of Living in the New Kingdom 1558-1085 B.C., exhibition catalogue, Boston, 1982, pp. 212-3, nos. 254-6. See J. Vandier d’Abbadie, Catalogue des objets de toilette egyptien, Paris, 1971 (faience), pp. 30-31, no. 69.
56. BRONZE FIGURE OF A KNEELING KING EGYPTIAN, 26TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-525 B.C. Wearing a pleated skirt with central tab, arms outstretched before him, with uraeus and blue crown. Height 10.5 cm. PROVENANCE
Hatchik Sevadjian (fl. 1884-1933): Sotheby’s, London, 20 May 1930, lot 41 Asscher and Welker, London Anonymous collection: Sotheby’s, London, 9 December 1963, lot 172 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1963-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022
57. BRONZE FIGURE OF THE GOD AMUN EGYPTIAN, 26TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-525 B.C. Standing on a rectangular base, striding with his left arm extended, originally holding a staff, his right arm pendant at his side, wearing the shendyt, a pleated loin cloth with belt and central tab, collar, braided beard curled forward and with sundisc and plumed double feathered crown. Height 25.5 cm. PROVENANCE
General Sir John Maxwell (1859-1929): Sotheby’s, London, 11 June 1928, lot 13 Asscher and Welker, London Anonymous collection: Sotheby’s, London, 9 December 1963, lot 173 Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910-99) CBE, FRS, 1963-91 Private collection, England, 1991-2022 COMMENT
Sir John Maxwell was a distinguished British Army officer who served in Egypt from the latter part of the nineteenth century, where he was Aide-de-Camp to Field Marshall Lord Grenfell, up to the First World War. He was President of the Egypt Exploration Society from 1925-29, knew Lord Carnarvon and was a friend and adviser to Howard Carter. He began collecting in 1886 and continued over the years acquiring over a thousand objects.
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COVERS: Cord and Sealing Securing the Doors of the Second Shrine, 1922, by Harry Burton © Griffith Institute, University of Oxford INSIDE FRONT COVER: Detail no. 41 PAGE 2: From the top of the Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt, c.1937, by Lee Miller (E1862) © Lee Miller Archives, England 2022. All rights reserved. INSIDE BACK COVER: The Warren Hastings long table at Northwick Park
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