Ancient Egyptian Flint Flint in a stylised form of a bird. Ex. Museum. Published. Very rare and good provenance.

Flint in a stylised form of a bird Ancient Egypt Naqada II or Dynasty I, 3300 - 2900 BC Flint Length 5. 2 cm PROVENANCE: Discontinued from The Heckscher Museum of Art (Museum # 39. 321. 18) , Long Island, New York, United States. Excavated in Egypt in 1909 by Robert Rustafjaell, "from a predynastic neolithic settlement in the eastern desert, near Kift (pre-dynastic site of Coptos) ". Sold at The anderson Galleries, November of 1915, as lot 708. From the funds of the Heckscher Museum of Art, Long Island (New York, USA) , who acquired them at the 1915 auction. From a private Spanish collection, acquired from the museum. PUBLICATIONS: The stone Age in Egypt, by Robert d Rustajfaell. NY, 1914. Inventory 1353, page 84, reproduced in the plate LXIX and at The anderson Galleries, Egyptian Collextion formed by Mr. Robert de Rustajfaellm November 29, 30 and december 1 of 1915, as lot 708, page 99 of the catalog. DESCRIPTION: This small sculpture – it would be an error to call it an object – can clearly be differentiated from flint items used exclusively to cut, scrape or perforate. Its existence encompasses elements of a wide cultural and religious background which transform the piece into a talisman. Some of the best examples of pieces like this one have been found in Hierakonpolis. These, however, have come from places of worship, settlements or cemeteries, but not directly from tombs. The Hierakonpolis ibex is a very famous piece fashioned so that the animal is in profile with great antlers and very long legs. Almost all the cultural material existing in these formative periods has been found in burial sites. These all have great similarities as they consist of a hole in the ground where the deceased is placed in a foetal position and where the dryness of the desert mummifies the corpse and preserves it for eternity. Grave goods were placed around the body. These principally consisted of: jewellery; vases both in stone of many different types and terracotta, in which notable pieces have been found in animal forms; cosmetic palettes in animal and geometric forms and lastly, knives and other flint instruments. Flint is an impure and compact variety of quartz-chalcedony. It is found in abundance in both Egypt and Sudan in the form of pebbles along the length of the Nile Valley, and as nodules or masses of smaller or greater size in sedimentary rock such as limestone which has been mined at least since the Neolithic period. The colour of flint varies from dark grey, to light ochre or blonde. It was used in Egypt from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Kingdom. Its use competed with copper in weaponry. Flint was mostly used for arms and utensils such as arrow points, darts, lances, knives, chisels, burins, scrapers and sickle blades, although it was also used to make bracelets and vessels. Due to its magic properties texts mention its use in the making of certain amulets. It is not necessary to point out the importance of this material in its pre-historic use. However the role it played in the mentality of the Ancient Egyptians as “the stone of preference of the Gods in their struggle against the demons of the Other World” is practically unknown. This ritual role of flint appears in two forms, one material and the other linguistic. The care taken in the fashioning of flint objects suffered a sort of falling-off: while its use still continued until the Ptolemaic Period, its working became cruder, by simple percussion flaking which was quicker and easier. However, the religious connection continued, as proof of this we have the existence of the word used for flint in the Egyptian language which also means “knife”, and was used by the King of the Gods to defeat demons. It is a “stone used to beat and annihilate the enemies in the underworld”. This association can be found up until the Roman era in ritual texts. So that for more than two millennia, the King or the Gods annihilated the enemy with a “flint” thus adding the stone’s magic character to its efficacy as a cutting object. BIBLIOGRAPHY: -\t. EATON-KRAUSS, M. et. al. Dawn of Egyptian Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. 2011. -\t. PETRIE, W. F. Tools and Weapons. British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account 30. London. 1917. -\t. PETRIE, W. F. Prehistoric Egypt Illustrated by over 1,000 Objects in University College, London. British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account 31. London. 1910. -\t. TEETER, E. Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Civilization. Oriental Institute Museum Pub 33. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 2011. Notes: The piece includes authenticity certificate. The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested. This process could take between 1 and 2 months.