AN INSCRIBED GREEN FAIENCE SCARAB FOR THUTMOSE III, NEW KINGDOM

拍品描述

AN INSCRIBED GREEN FAIENCE SCARAB FOR THUTMOSE III, NEW KINGDOM This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve Egypt, circa 1479-1070 BC. Naturalistically carved, the scarab with a convex dorsal surface subtly ridged to indicate the elytra, while the legs and head are defined in low relief along the sides, drilled horizontally for suspension as a pendant. The base with a neatly carved hieroglyphic inscription showing a royal sphinx facing a rearing uraeus beneath a flying vulture. The surrounding hieroglyphs read Mn-hpr-R’ (Menkheperre), ‘Enduring is the manifestation of Re,’ the throne name of Thutmose III, together with the epithet nb twy, ‘Lord of the Two Lands.’ Important Note: For essential information on the Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger Dimensions: Length 1.9 cm Bearing the throne name Menkheperre, this scarab invokes Thutmose III, one of the most formidable sovereigns of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty, who came to the throne as a child and ruled first beneath the commanding ascendancy of his aunt and stepmother, Hatshepsut, before emerging after her death as the architect of an empire extending Egyptian power deep into Nubia and the Near East. In this brilliant age of courtly production, faience scarabs served at once as seals, amulets and intimate vehicles of royal ideology, carrying the names and emblems of kings far beyond the monumental sphere of temple and tomb. The reputation and posthumous popularity of Thutmose III were such that scarabs engraved with his name were made for centuries after his death. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related green faience scarab from the reign of Thutmose III, 1479-1424 BC, 2.4 cm long, in the Queensland Museum, registration number E40032.1. Compare a closely related green-glazed steatite scarab inscribed for the God’s Wife Hatshepsut, dated to the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III (1479-1458 BC), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 27.3.177. Compare two closely related green-glazed stone scarabs, one from the reign of Amenhotep II (1425-1398 BC) and the other from the reign of Ramses II (1279-1212 BC), in the Louvre, object numbers AF 10058 and N 602 B. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s London, 7 December 2022, lot 147 Price: GBP 9,450 or approx. EUR 12,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration, as well as the related turquoise glaze and carved hieroglyphic inscription. Note the similar size (1.4 cm).

图片