Lot 6A
Egypt, New Kingdom, ca. 1550 to 1077 BCE. A beautiful hand-carved alabaster vessel in the shape of a heart, a bull's heart rather than that of a human (see below), this shape also used to create amulets. To the Egyptians, the heart was perhaps the most essential organ. This was not merely because the heart pumped blood throughout the body; in fact, it is not clear that the ancient Egyptians understood this function. Rather, the heart was believed to be the seat of intelligence, the source of all actions and emotions, the repository for memory, and, because of all these qualities, the source of one's identity. For these reasons, the heart was weighed in the balance of the underworld in order to determine whether its owner was worthy of entering paradise. Size: 3.625" W x 6.75" H (9.2 cm x 17.1 cm); 8.125" H (20.6 cm) on included custom stand.
New Kingdom heart amulets and vessels are relatively rare. According to the Bibliotheca Alesandrina Antiquities Museum, "two of the earliest securely dated non-royal examples (of heart amulets) come from the burial of Akenaten's vizier Aper-el at Saqqara. The heart amulet became one of the most important of all amulets and was set on every mummy until the end of the pharaonic period, often in numbers and usually on the upper torso. They appear in a wide variety of materials, the most common of which is carnelian, basalt, hematite and glazed compositions. The heart depicted as amulet is usually identified as the bull's heart rather than the human type. Four spells in the Book of the Dead ensured the heart's protection, and each was supposed to be inscribed on a heart-shaped amulet. Although most hearts amulets are uninscribed, their purpose was clearly the same."
Alabaster was quarried along the length of the Nile, from Giza to just south of Luxor. Offering vessels made of alabaster were used in temples and placed in the tombs of people at all class levels. For example, Auguste Mariette, the famous French Egyptologist of the 19th century, found a cemetery for the poor in Memphis where the dead had been buried without wrappings only three feet below the ground - but each had a small alabaster bowl and some animal bones, as they had been given food and drink for the afterlife. Meanwhile, kings were buried with many alabaster vessels, often of the highest quality, necessary to provide for them during their time in the underworld.
Provenance: private R.D. collection, Long Beach, California, USA collection, acquired over twenty-five years from various major galleries
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#125796
- Condition: Loss to rim as shown. Missing handle. Normal surface wear with a few scuffs and deposits commensurate with age as shown.
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