An Egyptian Hippopotamus Ivory Magic Wand, 12th/13th Dynasty, 1938-1640 B.C.

Restricted Species

Lot Closed

July 5, 12:41 PM GMT

Estimate

5,000 - 8,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Another Property

An Egyptian Hippopotamus Ivory Magic Wand

12th/13th Dynasty, 1938-1640 B.C.

finely engraved on one side with a single line of hieroglyphic inscription reading “Recitation by these Gods: [we] have come [to extend protection] around the Lady of the House Seneb-Su-Heri, Alive, Sound, Healthy, Repeating Life.”

Length 35.6 cm.

This lot contains endangered species. Sotheby's recommends that buyers check with their own government regarding any importation requirements prior to placing a bid. For example, US regulations restrict or prohibit the import of certain items to protect wildlife conservation. Please note that Sotheby's will not assist buyers with the shipment of this lot to the US. A buyer's inability to export or import these lots cannot justify a delay in payment or sale cancellation.

Nicholas Tano (1866-1924), Cairo

by descent to Jean Tano

Sotheby’s, New York, December 17th, 1997, no. 56, illus.

Private collection, London

Finch and Co., London

Charles Ede, London

Private collection, Rome, Italy

PUBLISHED

Charles Ede, Ltd., London, Egyptian Antiquities, 2006, no. 48, illus.

Altenmüller, "Zur Bedeutung der Fabeltiere von Beni Hasan", in M. Massiera, B. Mathieu, and Fr. Rouffet, eds., Apprivoiser le sauvage/Taming the Wild (Cahiers de l'ENIM, vol. 11), Montpellier, 2015, p. 22, note 1

H. Altenmüller, Die Zeichen der Apotropaia, Stundensterne und Planeten: Zum Bildprogramm der Apotropaia des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit. Hützel: Backe-Verlag 2021, pp. 18, 72, 280, 281, 285, and 288

H. Altenmüller and E.F. Vink, Die Apotropaia des Mittleren Reiches und der Zweiten Zwischenzeit. Katalog, London, 2022, no.115 (forthcoming)

Compare W. C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt, part I, New York, 1953, pp.248-249, fig. 159, and S. D’Auria, Peter Lacovara, and C.H. Roehrig, Mummies & Magic, The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt, Boston, 1988, pp. 127-128, no. 59.

Hayes, op. cit., writes that “…evidences of prolonged wear on many of them indicates that such amulets were employed by the living as well as the dead. Placed around or under the beds of their owners, these magic knives apparently served to ward off snakes, poisonous insects, and similar hidden dangers. The fact that the points of the knives are often worn away on one side suggests that they were used repeatedly to draw magic circles around the living and sleeping places of the owners to render them safe.”