Treasures from Egypt and the Roman Empire

The Art of Death from Egypt

Egyptian tomb art still fascinates the public, and with the offered antiquities we get a little closer to the Egyptian Cult of the Dead. This includes a colourful fragment from a coffin lid from the period 945-712 BC. It is decorated with hieroglyphs and typical Egyptian figures, such as a so-called Ba, the human-headed bird. 

The belief in a blissful afterlife was supported by many helpers, so-called ushabtis. The ushabti here is made of limestone and from 1550-1191 BC. The deceased had numerous of these ushabtis placed with them in the tomb, where the helpers stepped in as substitutes for the deceased and assumed the person’s demanding duties such as ploughing and watering in the afterlife.

Another interesting object up for auction is an Egyptian canopic jar from 1292-1191 BC. The canopic jar was used to store and preserve the viscera from embalmed corpses, in this case, the liver of the deceased. The lid is designed as a face depicting Imsety, the son of the Egyptian sky god Horus.

Capitals and Women

We also take a trip to a time period a little closer to our own with a marble capital from the Roman Empire. It belongs to the unusual column order "Tower of the Wind." Similar capitals can be seen at the Forum in the Roman city of Leptis Magna in Libya. From the same period, we find a Roman marble head depicting a woman with long, wavy hair artfully assembled in a ponytail.

Jewellery from the Antiquity

Also included in the auction are jewellery items from antiquity. First and foremost, there is a 19th-century gold ring, set with a carnelian intaglio engraved with Nike, the winged goddess of victory, who holds a laurel wreath and a palm branch in her hands. The ring was given as a gift to the Danish sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen by the master himself, Bertel Thorvaldsen, who liked to incorporate antique intaglios in gold rings and give them as gifts to other artists. A pair of Roman earrings of gold and with emeralds will also come under the hammer alongside several other antiquities.

Auction, Preview and Gallery Talk

Auction: 27 February at 2 pm (CET) at Bredgade 33, Copenhagen

Preview: 21-25 February at the same address

Gallery Talk: 23 February at 2 pm (CET) "Antiquities – A Journey from Egypt to the Roman Empire" by Alexandra Nilsson. Meeting place: in the reception area at the same address

View the entire selection of antiquities
Read more about the auction 
Read about bidding