< Previous4A MATRIX WITH A LIONL. 14.7 cm. H. 10.4 cm. Fine light clay, made from a patrix. Western Asia, 7th cent. B.C. CHF 3,600The mould is rectangular in shape. The lion strides aggressively to the left, his head out-stretched and his mouth opened in a roar. The fur on his throat is short, while the head and shoulder mane is shaggy and extends over the shoulder blades. The ears point forward and the tail is menacingly erect. Fur on mane and belly rendered as ornamental curves to distinguish it from the smooth coat. Slightly worn, otherwise still crisp. Negative for the manufacture of a clay relief.Formerly Paris art market, 2003. The style and type of the lion is similar to the large Neo-Assyrian alabaster reliefs with lion hunt scenes from the North Palace of Kouyunjik, now in London, see P. Matthiae, Geschichte der Kunst im Alten Orient. Die Grossreiche der Assyrer, Neubabylonier und Achämeniden 1000-330 v. Chr. (Stuttgart, 1999) 77‒81 with illus. 5AN AMULET IN THE FORM OF A LIONL. 3.2 cm. Blue glass. Egypt, Ptolemaic, 4th‒1st cent. B.C. CHF 1,800Recumbent lion on a low base. The beginnings of the mane, the nose and the mouth are rendered by grooves. A horizontal perforation below the lion’s chest allowed it to be worn as an amulet. Part of forepaws and front of base lost. Slightly worn.Formerly priv. coll. A. and M. Z., Switzerland, collection mainly formed in the 1960s-1990s. Thence by descent in the family. The lion was associated with a diverse range of meanings encompassing the divine, the royal and the symbolic spheres. The ancient Egyptians regarded the lion as an inhabitant of the desert and as the king of the beasts. Because of his strength and speed and also because of his loud roar, he numbered amongst the animals believed to have apotropaic powers. The lion was also thought to have vivifying and re-generative powers, on the one hand because he was capable of living in the desert, a habitat hostile to man, and on the other hand because he was linked to the trajectory of the sun on a mythical level. 6A STYLISED CROCODILEL. 6.5 cm. Stone (silex). Egypt, Predynastic, Naqada II‒III, ca. 3700‒3100 B.C. CHF 1,800 Fine, slightly curved blade in the shape of a crocodile. Edge retouched from the dorsal side. Two intentionally made protrusions on each of the edges represent the legs. The proximal end of the blade was made slightly thinner by a few surface retouches and represents the tail. The distal end is pointed to represent the muzzle. The object was not used as a tool but served as a talisman or something similar. The tip of the distal end is broken off, otherwise undamaged.Formerly coll. Geoffrey Metz, Uppsala, Sweden. 7A PROTOME IN THE SHAPE OF A DUCK’S HEADH. 13.3 cm. Wood with coloured stucco inlays. Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th‒19th Dynasty, 14th‒13th cent. B.C. CHF 9,800Head of a duck with opened beak. Carved decoration at the neck composed of a chequer-board pattern of squares and vegetal ornamentation inlaid with red, white and blue stucco. Blue inlays above the eyes and forehead. The protome probably belonged to the upper part of a lyre. Some inlays lost.From the estate of the Swiss art dealer and collector Elsa Bloch-Diener (1922‒2012), Berne, acquired between 1968 and 1983. There is a well-preserved example of a wooden lyre with duck’s head in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, inv. no. ÄM 10247.8A MOULD WITH A SQUATTING HERONL. 8.5 cm. H. 6.9 cm. Limestone. Egypt, Late Period, ca. 776‒332 B.C. CHF 3,600Horizontal rectangular mould with accurately sculpted negative of a heron to right. For the ancient Egyptians the purple heron was a manifestation of the ancient Egyptian god of death Benu. Lower left corner slightly worn. Reverse with traces of tooling.Formerly priv. coll. Robert Seward Kennedy, New York/London, formed in the 1950s‒1960s. Cf. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, inv. no. 72.699.Next >