Lot 4689
Extraordinary Wooden Anthropoid Coffin Lid (Suhet) of Ancient Egypt. Late XXV -Early Ptolemaic Times, c. 650-300. Made of several thick Lebanese cedar planks and covered with a fine linen, this outstanding encasement is extensively decorated and inscribed in polychrome. Quite realistically, it depicts the face in rich red-ochre tones; because of this coloration, we know this lid was created for a male (if female, the face would have been painted in pale yellow). Below the floral broad collar is an impressive winged scarab beetle, and still lower, we see a double row of vertical hieroglyphic text. The text on the right gives us the name of the deceased:"Neter Heneb". This row can be translated as: " A royal gift given in the land or realm of Osiris to Neter Heneb who gives many offerings in the temple of many oxen and many geese…" The foot-box of this sarcophagus lid rests on a white pedestal with a burgundy border. All in all, a visually stunning antiquity! Height: 68.5 inches. Accompanied by a full dossier supplemented with color photographs. This antiquity has been professionally restored to its original brillance, and internally is in remarkably excellent condition.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 35,000.
This piece is unusual in that it was not sawed into pieces and then reassembled. It formerly was part of an older collection; the consignor states probably from the world famous traveler and collector Lowell Thomas, who likely purchased it through the noted dealer R. Blanchard, of Cairo.
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| Realized $39,100 |
