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Scarce Egyptian Terracotta Mold for an Amulet
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Antiques:
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Ancient World:
Egyptian:
Pottery:
Pre AD 1000 item# 941556
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$465.00
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This scarce piece is an Egyptian brown terracotta mold that was likely used to form a faience amulet. This intact piece is approximately 1.6 inches high, is intact with no repair/restoration, and dates to the Late Period, circa 716-30 B.C. This piece shows the standing figure of the pregnant hippopotamus-headed goddess Thoeris, otherwise known as Taweret, who the the protector of women during childbirth. The image of this goddess is often seen as faience amulets, and an image of this goddess was also attached to beds, head-rests, and cosmetic articles. This piece is mounted with clay on a custom stand, along with a clay impression of the mold, and both of these can easily be removed. Molds of this type are scarce on the market, and are seldom seen. Ex: Private English collection. Ex: Private New York collection. I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Large Egyptian Faience Aryballos Vessel
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Egyptian:
Pre AD 1000 item# 593020
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
Price on request.
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This very large Egyptian faience aryballos is from the Late Period, 26th Dynasty, circa 664-525 B.C. This rare piece is turquoise blue in color and has five registers of decoration. There is a small round depression on the bottom that is surrounded by thirty-two petals, with a double row of lotus leaves above. There is a cross hatching design seen through the middle of the body and two rows of petals above. This piece has a wide strap designed handle and has light brown spotty deposits. There is also considerable white calcite deposits seen on the inside of the vessel. This piece had old repair that was skillfully repaired, from three large fragments, and this piece is 100% original. This piece is rare to extremely rare and was probably produced in Naukratis, a port in the Egyptian delta founded by the Greeks circa 7th century B.C. Naukratis was an exclusive Greek community organized by Amasis, and many of it's exports found their way into many foreign markets, including the Etruscans who coveted Greek and Egyptian objects. This piece is analogous to another example that is seen in "Archaic Greek Faience" by V. Webb, 1978, no. 743. This piece is approximately 4.25 inches high and has a nice even light blue color. A custom clear plexiglas stand is included. Ex: European private collection, 1970's. Ex: Fortuna Fine Arts, New York. Ex: Christie's Antiquities, New York, June 2003, no. 41.($8,000.00-$12,000.00 estimates.) I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Egyptian Basalt Mace Head: Predynastic Period
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Egyptian:
Stone:
Pre AD 1000 item# 806267
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$925.00
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This mint quality piece is an Egyptian black basalt mace-head that dates to the Predynastic Period, Nagada I/Nagada II, circa 4000-3500 B.C. This piece is approximately 2.75 inches high, and has a near perfect globular form. There is a bow drilled hole that runs through the center, and there is wear on the outer edges at each end of the hole. This may be due to the fact that a leather thong was attached through the central perforation, and could have produced wear to the outer edges of the hole at each end. A leather thong was preferred over a rigid shaft that was directly attached to the stone mace-head, because a rigid shaft may not have withstood the blows, as this weapon generated a tremendous amount of energy at the point of attack. This theory was elaborated by Winifred Needler in "Predynastic and Archaic Egypt in The Brooklyn Museum", Brooklyn, New York, 1984, p.145 and 259. The stone that this piece is made from, black basalt, is extremely dense and is one of the hardest stones to carve. The ancient Egyptians were able to carve some of their finest portrait busts from this stone, and in many cases it took years to do this and was a community effort for large scale works. The piece seen here was not easy to make, and is in itself is a work of art, although it is a weapon of war. There are nice cream colored calcite and light brown mineral deposits seen on the outer and inner surfaces of this piece, in addition to areas that have various degrees of wear. A nice weapon that is not often seen in black basalt. A custom stand is included and the piece can easily be removed, as it sits on top of the stand. Ex: Sotheby's Antiquities, Dec. 1995, no. 212. Ex: Private New York collection. (Additional documentation is available to the purchaser.) I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Roman/Egyptian Bronze Osiris-Dionysos Figurine
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Egyptian:
Bronze:
Pre AD 1000 item# 599555
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$2365.00
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This piece is a Roman bronze that was likely made in Alexandria, Egypt. This piece dates circa 2nd century A.D. and is a complete piece that is seen standing on a plinth. The plinth probably does go with this piece as the patina has matching deposits where the feet meet the top of the base. This rare bronze is likely Osiris-Dionysos and this piece was made to represent more than one god. This figure is seen wearing an Egyptian crown and he is holding a fruit out in his left hand. The fruit may represent the bounty of Egypt, as it was the bread basket of the Roman Empire. This figure is seen nude and this is a Greek convention of art, but this piece was likely made in Egypt, and as such, is a rare Egyptian convention of art as well. The duality of form and purpose of this piece is a reflection of the Romans who lived and worked in Egypt. This piece was probably set up in a shrine in a private home and both gods were probably worshipped at the same time. This piece is approximately 4.2 inches high and the figure itself is approximately 2.9 inches high. This piece has a nice dark green patina with spotty light brown mineral deposits. This piece is mounted with clay on a custom white marble/clear plexiglas stand and the piece can easily be removed. Ex: Christie's Antiquities New York, June 1994, no.191. Ex: Private New York collection. I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Egyptian Alabaster Cosmetic Aryballos
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Pre AD 1000 item# 859366
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$865.00
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This nice Egyptian vessel is an aryballos which probably held a cosmetic and/or a precious unguent. This piece dates to the Late Period, circa 550-330 B.C., and is approximately 2.5 inches high. This intact piece has a nice dark brown patina with some minute wear on the outer rim, which indicates this piece was used in antiquity and was not a votive object. This piece also has two small lug handles which allows one to easily grip this vessel. This piece is also very translucent when it is back lit and/or when it is placed outside in the daylight. This piece sits on a custom marble black base and an old French collector tag is included. Ex: Private French collection. Ex: S. Linde collection, Berlin, Germany. I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Large Egyptian Wooden Female Procession Model Figurine
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Ancient World:
Egyptian:
Wood:
Pre AD 1000 item# 969122
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
Price on Request
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This piece is an exceptional Egyptian wooden female figurine that was likely part of an offering model, and this piece dates circa 12th Dynasty, 1991-1786 B.C. This piece is approximately 12.1 inches high, and on its custom stand, it is approximately 15.75 inches high. This esoteric piece is missing the arms, which were attached to the main body with wooden pins, and the feet, which attached this piece to the model platform. This is often the case with model figurines of this type, as one complete figurine was made of several pieces. This piece was originally coated with a white gesso, and was then painted with several pigments; and in this case, there are sections of white gesso with red, black, and blue pigments. The exposed wood is a nice tan honey color, and the overall piece is very light in weight. One of the arms probably balanced the basket that is seen on her head, and the other arm likely hung down at her side. These arms were attached to the main body with round wooden dowels, and the deteriorated remains of these rounded wooden dowles can be seen within the rounded holes where they were inserted into the shoulders of the torso. The carving of this piece is exquisite, and very esoteric, as there are graceful contours of the female form, and the torso has an elongated sensual design. The esoteric design of this piece conveys an easy body movement, as the left leg is seen slightly striding in front of the other which indicates an easy stride, and this is another design feature that this piece has that one can easily perceive. One of the shoulders is also slightly larger than the other, as one arm was raised to support the basket, and the other arm hung down at the side. This piece was likely part of an offering model that was placed in the tomb of its owner, and these models provided sustenance for the deceased. There is also a notch at the bottom of the back right leg, and this fitted to a peg that attached this piece to the base of the model. An analogous female figurine from the same period, with a basket on the head that is part of a procession scene, can be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the exhibit "The Secrets of Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 B.C.", which runs until May 16, 2010. A photo of this analogous female figurine can also be seen in the Jan./Feb. issue of Archaeology Magazine, p.14. Additional female model figurines can be seen in "Models of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, From the Tomb of Meket-Re at Thebes" by H.E. Winlock, London, 1955. An analogous example of nearly the same size, with no arms, and with the left leg striding forward can be seen in Christies Antiquities, Dec. 2003, no. 33. ($16,730.00 realized, and see attached photo.) A complete figurine can be seen in Sotheby's Antiquities, New York, June 1995, no. 14. (This exceptional piece is approximately 12.8 inches high, and dates to the early 12th Dynasty. The female form and artistic style of the torso is very analogous to the piece offered here. $40,000-$60,000.00 estimates, $57,500.00 realized.) The exceptional piece offered here has also been examined by Selim Dere of Fortuna Fine Arts in New York, Alan Safani of Safani Galleries in New York, and Dr. Robert Bianchi. Ex: Private French collection. Ex: Private New York collection. Ex: Fortuna Fine Arts, New York. (Additional documentation is available to the purchaser.) I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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X-Rare Coptic Papyrus Burial Scroll with Text
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Antiques:
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Ancient World:
Egyptian:
Pre AD 1000 item# 1004874
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$3,875.00
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This extremely rare piece is a Coptic scroll that is made from papyrus, and it dates circa 2nd-4th century A.D. This piece is approximately 4.1 inches long by 1 inch in diameter at its thickest point. This piece was rolled several times, and unrolled, it would be approximately 4.1 inches wide by 7.76 inches long. This superb piece has lines of black text that was written into the papyrus, and the scroll was rolled with the written text facing on the outer side, as the inner back side layer of the scroll can be viewed on the inside. The text on this scroll is written in lines that run horizontally across the piece, and the lines continue down to the bottom of the document, as the black ink of these lines can partly be seen through the papyrus from the inside of the scroll. Papyrus was the material of choice by the Coptic scribes of the past, and papyrus was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, cut in stripes, and then pressed together in a grid fashion. These grids can also be clearly seen within the scroll offered here. The Coptic culture was one of the earlist Christian groups to have developed in the Holy Land, with the majority living in ancient Egypt as they do today. The extremely rare document offered here is in mint to superb condition, as it was probably protected from the elements in a clay jar or wooden box during burial. With the Hellenization of Alexandria, Egypt, Greek manuscripts flooded Egypt, and it is no accident that poems by Sappho, the first book of the Homeric "Iliad", and the satirical drama "Ichneutae", by Sophocles, were amoung the Coptic scrolls discovered in the last century. The piece offered here may contain elements of a Christian religious psalm or ancient Greek poem, as this scroll has not been translated. The majority of these early Coptic burial scrolls contain Christian-style magical texts that are written in Coptic-Greek (Sahidic dialect.), and the Greek alphabet is basically used in the Coptic language with the addition of seven characters derived from demotic which was the common language of the ancient Egyptians. According to A.F Shore (See Christian and Coptic Egypt", Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971, p.420-424.), a number of magical texts survived from the first three centuries A.D., and are characterized by the use of Greek letters and a large number of demotic signs known as "Old Coptic". The text of the piece offered here likely fits into the catagory as a Christian-style magical text as noted above, but nothing is certain until this scroll is unrolled in a laboratory and fully translated, and as such, this piece would make an excellent study piece. The piece offered here is somewhat hard and brittle, and can only be unrolled under laboratory conditions, and is being offered in its superb "as found" condition. In addition, there are some spotty white calcite deposits that are seen within the scroll as well as on the outer surfaces. This piece is an extremely rare Christian relic that is hard to find in this condition, and most Coptic texts offered on the market are fragments, and are not a complete document as offered here. A custom plexiglas display case is included that fully seals this piece from the elements, and one can easily lift off the top clear plexiglas display lid from the black plexiglas base. For more reading see, Merrill Parvis, "New Testament Manuscript Studies: The Materials and the Making of a Critical Apparatus", University of Chicago Press, 1950. Ex: G. Sasson collection, Jerusalem. Ex: Private New York collection. I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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