Lot 139
139
AN EGYPTIAN PREDYNASTIC MOTTLED LIMESTONE 'FROG' VESSEL
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AN EGYPTIAN PREDYNASTIC MOTTLED LIMESTONE 'FROG' VESSEL

CIRCA 3300-3100 B.C.

Details
AN EGYPTIAN PREDYNASTIC MOTTLED LIMESTONE 'FROG' VESSEL
CIRCA 3300-3100 B.C.
In the ellipsoid form of a recumbent frog with legs tucked under its body, eyes hollowed out (probably originally inlaid), with flat-rimmed everted opening on its back, with twin gold encased lug handles on either side, the mottled underside of the body resembling a frog's skin
2¾ in. (7 cm.) long, 1¼ in. (3.2 cm.) high
Provenance
Formerly in the collection of the late Colonel N. R. Colville.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

These zoomorphic vessels appear to belong in a limited chronological range. Heqat, the frog goddess, was the propitious goddess of fertility and birth. The frog, through its metamorphosis, encouraged the Egyptians' hope of transformation in the afterlife.

Cf. R. Fazzini, Images for Eternity: Egyptian Art from Berkeley and Brooklyn, New York, 1975, pp. 13 and 134, no. 9 (from Naga ed-Deir, Grave N7304) for similar. For the choice of mottled stone imitating the skin of a frog cf. Exhibition Catalogue, Ägypten, Basel, 1997, pp. 41-42, no. 20.

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