Framed Egyptian Cartonnage Mummy Linings for Nes Khonsu
Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1069 to 664 BCE. A lengthy set of cartonnage prayer strips meant to adorn the exterior of a linen-wrapped mummy. The linings are formed by covering woven linen strips with thick gesso and painting them with vivid blue borders and black hieroglyphs that recite protective incantations for the deceased's journey through the afterlife. Standing atop one strip is Tawaret (also Tauret), the hippopotamus-headed protector goddess, and beside the bottom column is a kneeling Nephthys, sister of Isis and a protector goddess of the dead. The top of the central column reads, "Servant of Amun, priest of the great house, Nes Khonsu." Size: 11.75" W x 26.9" H (29.8 cm x 68.3 cm); (display frame): 13.75" W x 29.25" H (34.9 cm x 74.3 cm)
A hand-written card included within the frame of these linings reads "These hieroglyphies were taken by the undersigned from caverns (containing numerous stone and wooden coffins enclosing the remains of mummies) hewn out of the limestone rocks on the right bank of the Nile about 3 miles from Techu. - other symbolical coloured pictures were damaged on removal - year 1843. -G. Gawthrop".
Provenance: private Chicago, Illinois, USA collection; ex-Pegasus Gallery Antiquities, Sherborne, England, UK; ex-Hanson's Auctioneers and Valuers of United Kingdom, Derby, England, UK; ex-private G. Gawthorp collection, originally exported in 1843
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#151808
Condition Report: Cartonnage strips repaired from several large pieces, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Areas of loss to both figures as shown and as stated in hand-written note. All cartonnage items have minor fading to original pigmentation, and several stable fissures to gesso layer commensurate with desiccation and age. Light earthen deposits and great remains of original painted gesso throughout. Most hieroglyphs are still legible.
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Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1069 to 664 BCE. A lengthy set of cartonnage prayer strips meant to adorn the exterior of a linen-wrapped mummy. The linings are formed by covering woven linen strips with thick gesso and painting them with vivid blue borders and black hieroglyphs that recite protective incantations for the deceased's journey through the afterlife. Standing atop one strip is Tawaret (also Tauret), the hippopotamus-headed protector goddess, and beside the bottom column is a kneeling Nephthys, sister of Isis and a protector goddess of the dead. The top of the central column reads, "Servant of Amun, priest of the great house, Nes Khonsu." Size: 11.75" W x 26.9" H (29.8 cm x 68.3 cm); (display frame): 13.75" W x 29.25" H (34.9 cm x 74.3 cm)
A hand-written card included within the frame of these linings reads "These hieroglyphies were taken by the undersigned from caverns (containing numerous stone and wooden coffins enclosing the remains of mummies) hewn out of the limestone rocks on the right bank of the Nile about 3 miles from Techu. - other symbolical coloured pictures were damaged on removal - year 1843. -G. Gawthrop".
Provenance: private Chicago, Illinois, USA collection; ex-Pegasus Gallery Antiquities, Sherborne, England, UK; ex-Hanson's Auctioneers and Valuers of United Kingdom, Derby, England, UK; ex-private G. Gawthorp collection, originally exported in 1843
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#151808
Condition Report: Cartonnage strips repaired from several large pieces, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Areas of loss to both figures as shown and as stated in hand-written note. All cartonnage items have minor fading to original pigmentation, and several stable fissures to gesso layer commensurate with desiccation and age. Light earthen deposits and great remains of original painted gesso throughout. Most hieroglyphs are still legible.
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