Lot 98
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUMMY MASK, ACQUIRED 1902-1903
THEBES, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA 1077 – 664 B. C.
Ancient, African & Oceanic Art and Natural History
Auction: 08 July 2026 at 14:00 BST
Description
wood and pigment, the face painted displaying yellow undertones, with a closed mouth painted red with a faint black outline, the almond shaped eyes painted, outlined in black; the nose small and dainty, the forehead framed by a striated wig; written on the reverse is ‘Head on ancient mummy case Thebes 1908’
Dimensions
21cm long
Provenance
Henry Moubray Cadell (1860–1934), acquired in the Nile Valley, Egypt in December 1902 or January 1903, thence by decent
Footnote
Henry Moubry Cadell (1860-1934) was a renowned Scottish geologist and geographer. Following his career in the Geological Survey he spent the years between 1889 and 1921 travelling throughout Norway (1889), USA (1891), Switzerland (1894), Australia and New Zealand (1895-1896), Russia (1897), India and Burma (1899), Egypt (1902-1903), Mexico (1906), Bavaria (1909), Canada and Alaska (1913), England (1915) and Spitzbergen (1920-1921). During this time, he formed his extensive and eclectic collection that would remain with his family through the next century, as well as documenting the geographical and geological landscape that later became the subject of his lectures and publications. During his lifetime he wrote and published 'The Geology and Scenery of Sutherland' (1896), 'The Story of the Forth' (1913) and 'The Rocks of West Lothian' (1925); he was also a founding member and served as both chairman and president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society; and in 1932 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of Edinburgh shortly before his death in 1934.