Sadigh Gallery Update November 23 2012

Greetings from Sadigh Gallery! 

Well, December, the final month of the year, is approaching, and New York City is becoming a more festive city than ever before.  The retail stores are dressed up in their fascinating holiday decorations, and Christmas songs can be heard from anywhere in the city!   Before the cold and long winter is here, this would be the best timing to experience the cheerful and lively New York City atmosphere.  If you are visiting New York City during this holiday season--Here are some ongoing shows and events that may interest the ancient artifacts aficionados.

Metropolitan Museum

Chinese Gardens

Pavilions, Studios, Retreats

August 18, 2012–January 6, 2013

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/chinese-gardens

Buddhism along the Silk Road

5th–8th Century

June 2, 2012–February 10, 2013

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/buddhism

Objects from the Kharga Oasis

August 14, 2012–August 4, 2013

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/kharga-oasis

Of course, after going to those places, we would like you to come visit us, too!  Unlike in Museums and high-end galleries in uptown Manhattan area, you may come in to our showroom to touch and feel the ancient relics on display.   We are currently holding a special sale during holiday seasons as well.  If you are looking for unique gifts for this holiday that are not like any other, feel free to consult with us and we will be happy to present great ancient artifacts that would make great gifts. If you live far from New York but are still interested in knowing what we have, visit our website http://www.sadighgallery.com or request for our free color catalog!

Here are some of the new collections of ancient artifacts that are currently available at the gallery:

Ancient Egyptian. Carved  amethyst horse, in a reclining pose. Translucent colors include light purple and green. A symbol of prestige, wealth and status. Ptolemaic. 305-30 BC

(3" x 3")

Ancient Egyptian. Carved pale carnelian scarab with traces of red. 26th Dynasty. 633-532 BC (¾" )

Ancient Egypt. Light green glazed faience amulet shows a triad of three Gods, Harpokrates, Isis, and Neith, traces of light blue. In Egyptian mythology, a "triad" is a group of three Gods that make up a family unit. Loop on the backside. Ptolemaic. 305-30 BC (1 ¾" x 1 ¼" )

Ancient Greek. Bronze reclining sphinx with an elaborate braided coiffure, the braided necklace draping across her naked breasts, a small rectangular platform resting on her back. Finely detailed with serene face. Green patina with a light earthen patina. 400 BC(3 ½" x 2 ½")

Thank you, and stay tuned for more updates from Sadigh Gallery!

New Additions at Sadigh Gallery

Greetings from Sadigh Gallery!

We have recently acquired a collection of many exquisite artifacts from collectors and estates. 

Here are some of the beautiful pieces currently available at Sadigh Gallery:

Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessel

Carved beige alabaster flask with two small loops protruding from the sides. Middle Kingdom. 2040 - 1786 BC (5" x 2 ½" )

Ancient Roman Bronze Cupid Inlay

 

Bronze winged Cupid, aiming with a bow and arrow.  Green patina. 100 AD - 200 AD (2" x 1 ¾" )

Ancient Roman Silver Cupid Pendant

 

Silver pendant of winged Cupid, a loop on the top for stringing.  200 AD (1")

European Marble Statue 

 

Carved marble statue of a muscular male, the left hand to the forehead, the right hand broken, the robe from the shoulder and covering the lower part of the body.  The face shows intricately carved  details. 1800's AD (36" x 12" x 7")

European Bronze Statue of a Soldier

 

Hollow bronze statue of a standing soldier on a decorative base. The soldier holds a spear in one hand, wears an armor, cloak over one shoulder, and  a helmet decorated with a winged dragon. Extremely fine details.  1700's AD (18" x 7" )

These are some of our favorite pieces and we believe they will be well received by any collectors.  The details on these pieces are simply magnificent.

Stay tuned for more Sadigh Gallery updates in future!  

Ancient Egyptian Coffin and Cartonnage Masks

Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians hoped to achieve eternal life through identification with the funerary god Osiris.  They believed that the deceased would attain immortality if the body was preserved for resurrection and if proper funerary rites were observed.  The mummy masks and the anthropoids sarcophagus emulated the divine Osiris, and aided the deceased in the perilous journey to the next world where it was believed that resurrection would magically occur.

The embalmed bodies of the dead were wrapped for protection before they were deposited in coffins, called sarcophagi, which were usually made of wood.  This wrapping, made of layers of linen or papyrus stiffened with gesso (plaster) and then painted with bright multi-colored decoration that carried symbolic significance is called cartonnage.  It was most commonly used for mummy masks, mummy cases, anthropoid coffins and other funerary items.

These two pieces, the covering for the head and torso, were the most significant elements of the cartonnage, as they protected the most vital areas of the body of the deceased.  At the top of the breastplate is a winged Sun disc with “Uraeus” serpents appended at each side.  Below it is the representation of the deceased, pictured as he or she lays mummified within his or her cartonnage.

At the bottom, and dominating the decorative scheme, is a large standing winged goddess, with a Sun disk on her head.  The features on the head covering are idealized according to the conventions of Egyptian style.  Its smiling face has the character of a mask, with its smooth transitions between the facial planes and the absence of naturalistic details.  The eyes are given special emphasis and are rendered as large, full almond shapes clearly outlined.  Above them, are heavily painted brows that lay in drawing attention to the eyes below.

Once the mummy was entombed within the wooden sarcophagus, a life size image of the deceased – a “Kah” – was placed over the face.  The “Ka” or “Kah” masks were made of cedar wood from Lebanon, as wood was scarce in ancient Egypt.  Wooden mummy masks were unusually constructed of small pieces joined together and pegged into place on the front of the sarcophagus.   The mask and the sarcophagus were then covered with plaster and religious motifs to help the deceased in his or her voyage.

Ancient Egyptian Canopic Jars and the Four Sons of Horus

Canopic jars were stone and ceramic vessels used for the burial of the viscera removed during mummification.  The term, canopic, derives from the misconception that they were connected with the human-headed jars that were worshipped as personifications of the God Osiris by the inhabitants of the ancient Egyptian port of Canopus, named after the Homeric character who was Menelaus’ pilot.  The "Canopus of Osiris" image appeared on some Roman coins from the Alexandrian mint and the name was therefore chosen by early Egyptologists to refer to any jar with a stopper in the form of a human head.  The practice of preserving eviscerated organs.

During mummification, it is first attested in the burial of Hetepheres, mother of the 4th dynasty ruler, Khufu (2589-2566 BC), at Giza.  Her viscera were stored in a travertine (Egyptian alabaster) chest divided into four compartments, three of which contained the remains of her organs in natron while the fourth held a dry organic material.  In later burials, specific elements of the viscera were placed under the protection of four anthropomorphic genii known as the sons of Horus who were themselves protected by tutelary deities guarding the four cardinal points.  The human-headed Imsety, linked with Isis and the south, protected the liver; the ape-headed Hapy, linked with Nephthys and the North, cared for the lungs; the jackal-headed Duamutef, linked with Neith and the east, guarded the stomach; and the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, linked with Serket and the west, looked after the intestines. 

During the first intermediate period (2181-2055 BC), the jars began to be provided with stoppers in the form of human heads and, at this time, the canopic bundles were sometimes decorated with human-faced masks.  By the late Middle Kingdom, a set of canopic equipment could be comprised of two chests, a stone-carved outer container and a wooden inner one holding four jars furnished with stoppers in the form of human heads.  In the early 18th Dynasty, the stoppers were still human-headed, as in the case of the canopic equipment of Tutankhamen, but from the later 18th Dynasty onwards, it became more common for the stoppers to take the form of the characteristic heads of each of the four genii and, by the 19th Dynasty, these had completely replaced the human-headed type.  In the third intermediate period (1069-747 BC), mummified viscera were usually returned to the body, sometimes accompanied by models of the relevant genii, but empty or dummy canopic jars were occasionally still included in rich burials.  Canopic equipment is found in Ptolemaic tombs but had ceased to be used by the Roman period.  The last known royal canopic jars belonged to après (589-570 BC) and one of these survived through its reuse as a vessel containing the body of a mummified hawk at Saqqara.

Find authentic ancient Egyptian carnopic jars at Sadigh Gallery website!

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=canopic jar&sortby=0&catid=17

Ancient Egyptian Scarabs

Common type of amulet, seal or ring bezel found in Egypt. Inscribed Scarabs were issued to commemorate important events or buried with mummies.  The Scarab is so called because it was made in the shape of the sacred Scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), which was personified by KHEPRI, a sun God associated with resurrection.  The flat underside of the scarab, carved in stone or molded in faience or glass, was usually decorated with designs or inscriptions, sometimes incorporating a royal name.  

The earliest were purely amuletic and uninscribed; it was only during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) that they were used as seals.  The term scaraboid is used to describe a seal or amulet, which has the same ovoid shape as a scarab, but may have its back carved in the form of some creature other than the scarab beetle.  This appears to have developed out of the practice of carving two-dimensional animal forms on the flat underside of the scarab, which is known as early as the First Intermediate Period (2181-2055 BC).

During the reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC), a series of unusually large scarabs were produced to celebrate certain events or aspects of Amenhotep’s reign, from the hunting of bulls and lions to the listing of the titles of Queen Tiy.  There were also a number of funerary types of scarabs such as the large “winged scarab”, virtually always made of blue faience and incorporated into the bead nets covering mummies, and the “heart Scarab", usually inscribed with Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead which was included in burials from at least the 13th Dynasty (1795-1650 BC) onward.

An extensive collection of scarabs, ranging from tiny (½"-¾") faience scarabs to heart scarabs made of limestone, are available at Sadigh Gallery. While heart scarabs show beautiful inscriptions and symbols, simpler amulet scarabs are available at more affordable prices and are able to be redesigned on modern jewelry settings.  In fact, we have lapis lazuli, carnelian, and turquoise scarab amulets set on modern earrings, rings, or necklace settings, which are popular among Sadigh Gallery customers as gifts. 

Lapis lazuli scarabs pictured here are especially popular with our customers and are  available in quantity. Lapis is metamorphosed form of limestone, rich in the blue mineral lazulite, a complex feldspathoid that is dark blue in color and often flecked with impurities of calcite, iron pyrites or gold. The Egyptians considered that ‘its appearance imitated that of the heavens’ and considered it to be superior to all materials other than gold and silver.  They used it extensively in jewelry until the Late Period (747-332 BC) when it was particularly popular for amulets. 

Visit http://www.sadighgallery.com to see variety of scarabs available at our gallery!

Egyptian Palette

The Palette term used to refer to two distinct artifacts: cosmetic and scribal pallets.

Cosmetic/ceremonial palettes, usually of siltstone (greywacke), have been found in the form of grave goods in cemeteries as early as the Baldarian period (c. 5500 – 4000 BC).  They were used to grind pigments such as malachite or galena, from which eye-paint was made.  The early examples were simply rectangular in shape, but by the Naqada I period (c. 4000 – 3500 BC), they were generally carved into more elaborate geometric forms including a rhomboid which resembles the symbol of the later fertility god Minor, the schematic silhouettes or animals such as hippopotami and turtles (sometimes with inlaid eyes).

By this time, cosmetic palettes had almost certainly acquired ritualistic or magical connotations.  In the Naqada II period (c. 3500 – 3100 BC) the preferred shape tended to be the forms of fish or birds, rather than animals, and many were shield-shaped, with two birds’ heads at the top. 

By the terminal Predynastic period, the range of shapes of the smaller cosmetic palettes had become considerably reduced, but simultaneously a new and more elaborate ceremonial form began to be produced.  These palettes (usual oval or shield-shaped) were employed as votive items in temples rather than as grave goods, and a large number were found in the form of a cache in the Early Dynastic temple at Hierakonpolis.  They were carved with reliefs depicting the ideology and rituals of the emerging elite, and the quintessential surviving example is the “Narmer Palette”. 

The “Narmer Palette” was found in the so-called “main deposit” at Kom el-Ahmar, i.e. Hierakonpolis.  This is perhaps the most intensely studied of all Egyptian artifacts and the most well known.  This triangular piece of black basalt depicts a king whose name is given as Nar-Mer in the hieroglyphs. On the obverse he is shown wearing the white crown of the south and holding a mace about to crush the head of a northern foe, and on the reverse, the same figure is shown wearing the red crown of the north while a bull (a symbol of the pharaoh's power) rages below him, smashing the walls of a city and trampling yet another foe.  At first, it was taken for a plate commemorating a specific historical event, such as the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, or a military victory over some foreign people.  However,  later  research drift towards it being either a wholly symbolic event aimed at manifesting the King's power, or summarize the year in which it was made and presented to the temple.

 

Scribal palettes generally consisted of long rectangular pieces of wood or stone (averaging 30 cm long and 60 cm wide), each with a shallow central groove or slot to hold the reed bushes or pens and one or two circular depressions at one end, to hold cakes of pigment.  The hieroglyph used as the determinative for the words “scribe” and “writing” consisted of a set of scribes’ equipment, including a shorter version of the palette.