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1: An Important Egyptian Gold Baboon Amulet

Currency:USD Category:Antiquities Start Price:18,000.00 USD Estimated At:30,000.00 - 35,000.00 USD
1: An Important Egyptian Gold Baboon Amulet
Egypt, Old Kingdom, ca. 2800 BC. Sacred to the god Thoth, seated on a fragmentary base and resting his forepaws on his knees, the tail curved around to the front, the facial features naturalistically modeled, his cape-like mass of fur finely incised, crowned with a solar-disk framed by cow horns, a large suspension loop on the reverse. A very fine hollow gold amulet. For related examples cf. Égypte, moments d'éternité, pp. 256-257, no. 170, and especially Burlington Fine Arts Exhibition, p. 66, no. 6, pl. XVIII (Earl of Carnarvon collection). For the role and significance of baboons in ancient Egypt see Houlihan, The Animal World of the Pharaohs, pp. 95-96, and 105-108.
Height: 1.5 cm - 1/2"

Provenance: Ex-Vernon Pick private collection, Ohio. Acquired in Switzerland in the 1950's and then by descent.