About the lot N° 169
Title : Egyptian Gesso-Painted Wood Model Boat Middle Kingdom, Period : 2133
Provenance : Provenance: Scottish private collection, acquired by Esmond Sinauer (d. 1946) in Egypt, possibly Luxor, in the early 20th century, thence by descent. Esmond Sinauer, born in Australia, moved to London in the early 1900s to attend St. Paul's School, where he became head boy. He then trained as an army officer at the Woolwich Armament School where he passed out as the top cadet and became a career army officer in the Royal Engineers. After winning the MC, he ended his career as the colonel of the regiment and died at the age of sixty-four just before he was due to retire in October 1946. As a young major in the regiment he was sent to Egypt and Sudan in the early part of the twentieth century. It was during this period that he acquired the boat, said to be from an excavation in Luxor. At the same time he also acquired other Egyptian antiquities, including a bronze Osiris that he mounted on his Rolls Royce car in place of the 'Spirit of Ecstasy'. The car's number plate BL 1059 was inscribed on the base of the Osiris. Literature: Boats were an integral part of Egyptian everyday life and mythology and as such they were considered necessary in the afterlife. Usually two model boats were provided for each tomb, one showing the crew sailing South with the prevailing wind and the other with the crew rowing North. Both papyrus and wooden boats were recreated as models, representing the variety of Egyptian boats. For examples of model boats, cf. S. D'Auria, P. Lacovara, and C.H. Roehrig, Mummies and Magic: the Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt, 1993, p. 114-115. Colonel Esmond Sinauer M.C. (d.1946)Bonhams 3, auctioneer, London, UK
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Sale title : Antiquities
Sale date : 30 Nov 2016
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Sale Reference : Live Sale
