Lot 12
Egypt, Ptolemaic to Roman period, ca. 200 BCE to 200 CE. A charming pair of hand-carved stone amulets: a quartz horse and a carnelian bull. Standing on straight, delineated legs, the horse presents a prominent, crest-like mane and both lateral and vertical drill holes, allowing it to be suspended as a pendant or bead. Alternatively, the bull presents a thick body and petite horns that rise above a wonderfully-detailed head with petaloid ears, almond-shaped eyes, narrowed brows, incised nostrils, and a straight mouth. Bulls and horses were both important animals in ancient society, as they provided transport, sustenance, and fertilizer for crops, as well as power to help run farm equipment. Thus, both animals were often associated with strength and fortitude. Size of largest (horse): 0.9" L x 0.2" W x 0.6" H (2.3 cm x 0.5 cm x 1.5 cm); of custom display box: 1.8" Diameter x 0.6" W (4.6 cm x 1.5 cm)
According to scholar Dorothea Arnold, "The horse is a relative latecomer to the Egyptian menagerie. The earliest skeleton found in the Nile valley may date to the seventeenth century B.C. In ancient literature and relief art, horses first appeared in connection with the expulsion of the Asiatic rulers, the Hyksos, which occurred from the late Seventeenth to the early Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 1550 B.C.). After the defeat of the Hyksos the horse-drawn chariot became the predominant fighting machine of Egypt's military, the official conveyance of her kings, and an efficient vehicle for hunting. Horseback riding, however, remained a rarity until Ptolemaic times." (Arnold, Dorothea. "An Egyptian Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1995, Vol. LII, no. 4, p. 55)
Alternatively, the bull may be a reference to the sacred Apis bull of Egypt. Apis was originally worshipped by Narmer, the ruler who unified Upper and Lower Egypt around 3000 BCE - the sacred bull is shown trampling the pharaoh's enemies on the Narmer palette that commemorates the unification. Three thousand years later, by the time of Roman control of Egypt, the worship continued. Though centered around the city of Memphis, the cult of Apis was so extensive in Egypt that the Greeks and Romans wrote about it repeatedly. The famous French archaeologist Mariette, excavating at the Serapeum of Saqqara, found the mummified remains of more than sixty bulls, some buried in their own separate tombs.
Provenance: private Charlotte, North Carolina, USA collection; ex-Joel Malter collection, prior to 2004
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#181209
- Condition: Bull is missing proper front right leg with chipping to other legs. Both have expected surface wear as shown. Otherwise, horse is intact and wearable as a bead. Both are excellent. Great detail on bull; horse is wearable as a bead or pendant. Accompanied by custom display box.
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