The Devries Collection: Part I
The Pharaoh Senusret III

371, Lot: 995. Estimate $250. Sold for $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Middle Kingdom. 12th Dynasty. Senusret III (1878-1839 BC). Steatite scarab (18x13mm). Face depicts a cartouche containing Kha Ka Ra (i.e., Senusret III), fifth and most powerful pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, flanked by two uraei (royal cobras) and two hawks (symbols of Horus). Minor chips. Pierced. Cf. BMC p. 133, 138.

From the Carl Devries Collection.

CNG is pleased to present Part I of the Carl Devries Collection of Egyptian antiquities. At the core of the collection are over several hundred scarabs and scaraboids. The collection is particularly strong in scarabs with royal names, and we are proud to offer over 20 such pieces in this initial offering.

A Minnesota native, Dr. Devries (1921-2010) attended Wheaton College in Illinois, earning his B.A. in 1942, M.A. in 1944 and B.D. in 1947. He served as an instructor in Biblical archaeology at Wheaton from 1945 until 1952, before leaving to pursue his Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Chicago, which he attained in 1960.

As a member of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Devries excavated in Egypt from the early 1950s until his retirement from the university in 1975, and was part of the Nubian Expedition from 1963 to 1964. He served as a substitute pastor in the Chicago area following his retirement from archaeology.

Devries acquired the bulk of his collection during the period he was employed in Egypt, and the vast majority of his pieces were purchased from Sayed Molattam, a noted antiquities dealer based in Luxor, where Devrie’s work with the Oriental Institute was based.

All of the following scarabs, with the exception of lots 1049 and 1050, are from the Carl Devries Collection.