Lot 4
4
AN EGYPTIAN FLINT AND GOLD FISHTAIL KNIFE
AN EGYPTIAN FLINT AND GOLD FISHTAIL KNIFE

PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, 3500-3100 B.C.

Details
AN EGYPTIAN FLINT AND GOLD FISHTAIL KNIFE
PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, 3500-3100 B.C.
Both sides ripple flaked, the edges razor sharp, with a bifurcated end tapering to the handle, its end sheathed in thin gold sheet
3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm.) long
Provenance
Frank Kovacs Private Collection, San Francisco, 1970s.
with Joel L. Malter & Co., Encino, California, 2001.
Literature
W.B. Harer, Jr., "Peseshkef: The First Special-Purpose Surgical Instrument," in Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 83, no. 6, June 1994, pp. 1-3.
Exhibited
San Bernardino, Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, periodically until August 2005.

Lot Essay

The exact function of fishtail knives is not known. Based on similarity of shape, it is thought that they are the ancient predecessor to the later peseh-kef wand, used during the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony. It has also been suggested that they were used during childbirth for cutting the umbilical cord. For similar examples in the Cleveland Museum of Art see nos. 62-63 in Berman, Catalogue of the Egyptian Art, and for a recent discussion on the topic see Harer, op. cit.

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