We’ve all heard the stories of pyramids, sphinxes and pharaohs, but it almost seems impossible to own an object made more than two and a half thousand years ago. Because of our remarkable Ancient Egypt auction you can explore items from this era and place a bid. Finding a treasure from the past might not seem so implausible after all. Here are five of the most impressive objects from our auction.
1. Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat, c. 500 B.C.
The cat or Miu was first domesticated in Ancient Egypt where in the New Kingdom of the Pharaoh’s Akhenaten and Tutankhamun it can be found in the wall paintings of noblemen assisting in hunting game and fishing. Our love affair with the cat is indeed ancient. By the Late Period, the animal cult was particularly important and the cat was worshipped as Bastet, the goddess of love, both erotic and maternal. This fine Bronze head of a cat will be appreciated by a loved one as an eternal symbol of undying affection.
2. Ancient Egyptian standing MAAT, Late Period, 26e - 30e Dynastie 664-332 B.C.
Don’t be fooled by her seductive appearance! From the pharaoh to the peasant of the field, every Egyptian’s life was governed by the rule of ‘Maat’, roughly translated as ‘Truth’. Represented as a goddess in a tight fitting sheath dress, this exceptional bronze figure dating to the Late Period is finely detailed. Maat is found at the culmination of the funerary papyri commonly known as the ‘Book of the Dead’, where the deceased’s heart is weighed against the feather of truth – a trial even the immortal pharaoh’s had to face. This was no light threat either. If the heart was heavier than the feather of Maat, the deceased would be devoured by the monster Ammut, condemning him or her to ultimate annihilation.
3. An Egyptian Bronze Toilet Mirror, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1539-1292 B.C.
Vanity is not just a trait of the modern fashion conscious and fame hungry teenager of today. In Ancient Egypt, both men and women of the nobility were dressed to impress in daily life and for the eternal journey to the afterlife. No fashion conscious Egyptian would have faced eternity without a handsome bronze mirror with a highly polished surface, mirroring the glory of the sun’s disc, in which to reflect on the owner’s own importance. The Bronze handle in the form of a papyrus umbel reminded the owner of the fine line between the fertile Nile valley and the desert, immortal life and eternal death. This delicate bronze hand mirror was cast in two pieces: the thin, ellipsoidal mirror disc has a tang that neatly fits into the socket handle and held in place by a small bronze rivet. The shaft of metallic mirrors were made in Egypt as early as the Old Kingdom and had function as well as religious and funerary uses. Reflecting the image of a person, the mirror disc was associated with vitality, generation and regeneration.
4. Egyptian cartonnage Sarcophagus set: a polychromed mummy mask with chest-piece and foot-piece, painted to resemble a pair of sandals - Ptolemaic period, Egypt: Circa 2nd-1st century B.C.
The two great cultures of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome came together when Cleopatra seduced the two greatest men of ancient Rome, Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. Rome wanted Egypt as a ‘bread basket’ to feed her expanding Empire, but cultural influence is never just one way. Combining Egyptian and Roman elements this elegant cartonnage assemblage would have decorated the mummy of a Romano-Egyptian nobleman who wanted the best of both worlds. Egyptian deities of the afterlife decorate the chest pectoral, whilst his features and feet are presented in a mixed Egypto-Roman style.
5. An Egyptian Decorated “D” Ware Jar, Predynastic Period, Late Naqada II, ca. 3500–3300 B.C.
From the earliest settlers to the Nile Valley, the encroaching desert was never far from the mind of the ancient Egyptian. This magnificent ‘D’ Ware pottery vessel reflects the contrast between the desert, reflected in the buff earthenware material colour of the vessel, and the life giving Nile Valley, depicted in the form of an elaborate ceremonial barge with multiple oars, twin cabins to shade a god, king or noble and standards the meaning of which has been lost. The zig zag lines forming the decoration over the rest of the body of the jar is representative of an abundance of life giving water. The jar is a magnificent preserved specimen from the very foundation of Egyptian civilization.
Do you want to become the proud owner of one of these amazing objects? Start exploring the Ancient Egypt auction here. The auction ends monday, the 20th of February at 20.00 CET onwards.