登录
Exhibited: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), 2011-2023, inventory number MMoCA.696.
Published:
1. P. Clayton, Ancient Egypt, in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011, p. 37, fig. 9.
2. M. Merrony, Ancient Egypt, in M. Merrony (ed.), Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, La collection famille Levett, France, 2012, p. 22.
Expert’s note: Pa-abumeh, whose “good name” was Psamtik-seneb, was a high-ranking official of the Late Period who held the prestigious title of Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt as well as that of King’s Acquaintance. The office of treasurer belonged to the uppermost echelon of the Egyptian administration and placed its holder in close proximity to the royal court and the management of the crown’s economic resources. His elevated status is reflected in the exceptionally large and finely produced group of faience shabtis prepared for his burial. Numerous examples survive today in major institutional collections, including twenty-two in Cairo and eight in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Despite the comparatively substantial number of Pa-abumeh shabtis preserved in major institutional collections, the present lot appears to be the only example to have come to the international auction market during the past two decades, a remarkable circumstance that underlines the extreme rarity of these shabtis in private hands.
Egypt. Finely rendered with arms crossed over the chest and the hands and head emerging from the wrappings, the left hand grasps a pick and the right hand holds a hoe, along with a twisted cord that leads to a basket of seeds behind the left shoulder. His face with a gentle smile, wearing a tripartite wig and false beard. The lower body is incised with ten horizontal lines of inscription, wrapping around to meet on either side of the back pillar.
Inscriptions: The hieroglyphs reproduce Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead and give the name of the deceased, ‘The Chancellor of the King of Lower Egypt, known to the king, Pa-abumeh, nicknamed Psametikseneb, son of Aakha, born of Taoupetnefret’.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, firing irregularities, few traces of prolonged burial, and little encrustations.
French Export License: Certificat d’exportation pour un bien culturel, no. 258609, dated 4 February 2026, has been granted. A copy accompanies this lot.
Provenance:
- M. M. Belfer collection, Paris, France, acquired in the 1960s.
- Galerie David Ghezelbash, Paris, France, 2011.
- Christian Levett collection, Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, acquired from the above.
The base inscribed with the collection number MM.2011.693.
David Ghezelbash studied at the école du Louvre and worked for the Louvre Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, before opening his gallery in 2007. The gallery specializes in ancient art and archaeology from the Mediterranean and ancient Near East, with particular expertise in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Oriental antiquities. It participates in major international art fairs and publishes annual catalogues of its works.
Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli.
Weight: 227 g
Dimensions: Height 17.2 cm
Although there a number of shabtis for Pa-abumeh in collections around the world, the location of his tomb is not known. As a Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt and King's Acquaintance, it is possible that he was buried at Saqqara, where many of the highest officials of his time had their tombs.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related shabti for Pa-abumeh, dated Later period, 595-380 BC, 15.3 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 15.43.11.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 26 January 2023, lot 24
Price: USD 37,800 or approx. EUR 39,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian faience shabti for Hekaemsaef, Late Period, 26th Dynasty, reign of Amasis, 570–526 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, material, period, and similarly fine execution. Note also the similar size (18 cm).
|
|
| Galerie Zacke | |
| 地址： | Zelinkagasse 6, 1010 Vienna, Austria |
| 电话： | 0043-1-5320452 |
| 邮编： | 1070 |
| 向卖家提问 | |
