Lot 63
Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom to Late Dynastic Period, 11th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 2050 to 332 BCE. A mold-formed heart amulet made from paste glass of an opaque, sienna-red hue. The heart hieroglyph consists of a teardrop-shaped jar with lug handles on either side and lid. This amulet would have likely been sewn into the lining of mummy wrappings or placed atop the body before burial to preserve the body, heart, and soul before venturing forth into the afterlife. The neck of the lid on this amulet is pierced for suspension. Size: 0.95" L x 0.66" W (2.4 cm x 1.7 cm)
Red paste glass was some of the most beautiful and highly desired material used for commissioning both everyday items as well as elaborate funerary offerings. According to authors E. Marianne Stern and Birgit Schlick-Nolte, "The earliest datable glass examples are the fragments of two opaque red bowls found in a royal tomb dated ca. 20 B.C. at Meroe, Sudan . . . [and that] Opaque red glass was notoriously difficult to make and to form into objects because it turns black or green if it is melted in an oxidizing atmosphere." (Stern, E. Marianne and Birgit Schlick-Nolte. "Early Glass of the Ancient World: 1600 B.C. - A.D. 50 | Ernesto Wolf Collection." Verlag Gerd Hatje, Germany, 1994, p. 328)
Exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number EL01.289.1996.
Published in Dr. Gerry D. Scott III. "Temple, Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection." University of California Press, 1992, pp. 184-185, fig. 132d
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number EL01.289.1996; Published in "Temple, Tomb, and Dwelling", fig. 132d
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#182150
- Condition: Surface pitting and minor nicks. Softening to finer details, but otherwise intact. Light mineral deposits.
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