AN EGYPTIAN FAIENCE HANDLE

HYKSOS PERIOD, DYNASTY XVI, CIRCA 1640-1532 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN FAIENCE HANDLE
HYKSOS PERIOD, DYNASTY XVI, CIRCA 1640-1532 B.C.
Light green in color, of elongated tapering form with a bulbous end, the interior with a deep cylindrical cavity, each side of the exterior incised with a column of hieroglyphic text reading "Ruler of Foreign Lands, Semqen" and "King's (female) Acquaintance, Nefret (or Nofret)"
3¾ in. (9.5 cm.) long

Provenance

Collected by Gustave Jéquier (1868-1946).

Lot Essay

Semqen was one of the lesser Hyksos rulers who does not fit into the main line of 15th Dynasty rulers. According to Redford (pp. 110-111 in Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times), "It is much more likely that this group is to be understood as chieftains of small enclaves within the delta, subservient in a quasi-feudal manner to the kings of the 15th Dynasty."

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