Antiquities - ancient Two Egyptian glass Horus-Ra inlays

E69

Two Egyptian glass Horus-Ra inlays

£300

A pair of similar cast and engraved opaque white inlays in the form of a seated human figure with a falcon's head crowned with a sun disc.

The falcon-headed deity represents the god Horus, and the addition of the solar disc crown probably represents his incarnation as Ra-Horakty: "Ra, who is Horus of the two horizons".

These inlays were probably placed at either end of a finely decorated panel to represent the ends of the horizon.

Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 BC

Both pieces are intact as shown. A black oxidised patina and traces of pitch (used to set the inlays into a panel of wood) remain on much of the surface.

Size: 3.1 x 1.3 cms & 3.2 x 1.4 cms

Ex. collection: Henry Wallis RWS, 1830-1916.

Wallis is probably best known as an artist of the Pre-Raphaelite movement who exhibited "The death of Chatterton" to much acclaim at the Royal Academy in 1856. He worked with and enjoyed the friendship of several of the great painters of the late 19th Century including Rossetti, Alma-Tadema and Burne-Jones.

In later life Wallis became a noted scholar and collector of antiquities. He published twenty works on Egyptian, Classical, Medieval and Islamic art, including the book "Egyptian Ceramics" in 1900. His collection now forms part of the permanent displays of several important museums including the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Wallis travelled widely in the Mediterranean, and visited Egypt on several trips where he met with the legendary Flinders-Petrie at a fascinating point in the archaeological history of the country. This allowed him to acquire antiquities from rarefied and recently discovered sites such as Tell el-Amarna and Tuna el-Gebel.

"vessels of all kinds, figures of the gods, elegant objects of personal adornment, and all the trappings and paraphernalia of the mummy" Henry Wallis, commenting on discoveries at Tuna el-Gebel in the 1890's.

This object forms part of an extensive group of antiquities from this unique Victorian collection which we are delighted to offer for sale for the first time in nearly 100 years.

www.heliosgallery.com

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