Code: 2576
Description: A sizeable dark greenish blue faience amulet of Bes, the protector of households, mothers and children, depicted naked and wearing a plumed headdress, with pierced ears and hands clasping a pot belly; a suspension loop on the reverse at the top of the head. Patchy surface wear, particularly on the high points, and a chip to one ear and one shoulder, but an unusually large example.
Size: 75 mm/2.9 ins. high
Culture: Egyptian
Date: Ptolemaic to Roman Period, c. 300 B.C. - 300 A.D.
Provenance: From the collection of Julian Bird (1959-2014) and acquired from Helios Gallery, Kingsdown, Wiltshire, and originally collected in the early 20th Century.
Background: Julian Bird was a passionate collector of Egyptian antiquities, who built up a fine and extensive collection from the 1970s onwards. He sourced his items mainly from the UK market, from specialist dealers, fairs, markets and auctioneers. He was a model collector, carefully documenting his collection, although we do not have his notes on this particular item.
