Lot of 5 Egyptian Glass Serpent Fragments

Egypt, Ptolemaic to early Romano-Egyptian period, ca. 332 BCE to first half of 1st century CE. A stunning and exceptionally rare ensemble of five mold-cast snake fragments made from opaque black glass with white 'scales' and fabulous rainbow-hued iridescence throughout. The form of each fragment is slightly curved as it would appear if slithering across the fertile Egyptian landscape, and shallow recesses along the undersides enabled a secure fit within recesses on wooden coffins or limestone reliefs. The snake composed by these fragments perhaps depicted an enormous uraeus cobra with an intricate headdress or even Apophis (also Apep), the giant serpent-form god of chaos who was the archenemy of the sun god Ra. Size of largest: 7.2" L x 1" W (18.3 cm x 2.5 cm)

Snakes are some of the most ancient animals noted in artwork from ancient Egypt and have garnered both reverence and fear throughout the millennia. According to scholar Dorothea Arnold, "Cobras, the best known of Egypt's many snakes, are also among the most impressive. Their raised threat posture and the way some of the species spit venom are thoroughly intimidating. The ancient Egyptians were so fascinated by these behaviors that they adopted the cobra as a mythical snake. The uraeus, as it was called in Greek, sat on the foreheads of pharaohs and guarded the roofs of holy shrines with awe-inspiring aggressiveness." (Arnold, Dorothea. "An Egyptian Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1995, Vol. LII, no. 4, p. 43).

Though some snakes like uraei cobras were perceived as signs of pharaonic power, royalty, and control over magical forces, not all were viewed with such affection; the most fervently detested, however, was the titanic serpent-form god Apophis (also Apep). Author Peter Clayton writes how Apophis was, "In Egyptian mythology a gigantic serpent whose nature symbolized the idea of chaos and non-existence which all Egyptians dreaded. When Re the sun god descended behind Bakhu, the mountain of the west, to travel the twelve hours of night through the Underworld, Apophis lay in wait in order to swallow him. The sun god was towed along the Underworld waters on a boat but his crew became hypnotised by the stare of Apophis. The rescuer of Re was the god Seth whose strength matched that of Apophis who was subdued by a magical chant." (Clayton, Peter. "Great Figures of Mythology." Crescent Books, New York/New Jersey, 1994, p. 34)

For a wonderful example of glass inlays inserted into a wooden coffin, please see: 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. 60, fig. 90.

Provenance: ex-Dr. Sid Port collection, California, USA, acquired in the 1970s; ex-Norman Blankman collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1950s in Cairo, Egypt

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#153322
Condition Report: All items are fragments of larger glass compositions and have been professionally cleaned and conserved. Repairs to all five fragments, with light restoration on versos of some for structural stability, and light resurfacing and very light adhesive residue along break lines. All items have minor nicks and abrasions to tops, peripheries, and versos, with light darkening to some areas, and minor encrustations. Light earthen deposits and fabulous rainbow-hued iridescence along tops of all items.