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2 Lg Rare Egyptian Scarabs Cabell Estate VA 3.5" Clay?
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2 Lg Rare Egyptian Scarabs Cabell Estate VA 3.5" Clay?
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Gallery photo shows only one, for size--but auction is for an intriguing PAIR of huge Egyptian scarabs with an interesting provenance.
They came from the estate of James Alston Cabell of Richmond, Virginia (1852-1930)--a member of an extremely prominent Virginia family and apparently the quintessential Renaissance man. See biographical information in bold, below. (It is taken directly from the book Men of Mark in Virginia: Ideals of American Life by L.G. Tyler, 1906. Thank you, Google.) Family history states that the scarabs were presented to Cabell on the occasion of his delivering an address in Egypt in the late 19th or early 20th century. Scarabs measure 3 and 1/2 inches long and 2 and 1/2 inches at widest point. They are quite heavy--slightly more than 7 ounces apiece. I believe they are molded clay, given their similarity of shape--but could be stone? Bodies are the expected beetle shape, but heads are Sphinxes. Reverses show a pattern of hieroglyphics which I cannot (of course!) decipher. Although clearly done by hand, the carvings are meant to match. Nice vintage condition. One in slightly worse shape than the other, with a ding out of the reverse, a seam through the middle of same, and a few pock marks. The other has slight wear to the bottom surface. See photos. Of course Mr. Cabell's widow held that the scarabs were from King Tut's tomb. Oh well. The REST of the story is accurate.... Even if they were not ancient at the time, they are at minimum 100 years old now. These scarabs currently belong to Mr. Cabell's granddaughter. They have been in storage for decades. U.S. bidders only, please. Shipping to lower 48 is $8.00 to include Delivery Confirmation. If you live close by, I will refund excess shipping charges. Please see my other items. CABELL, JAMES ALSTON, lawyer, was born inRichmond, Virginia, and is the son of Colonel Henry Coalter Cabell and JaneAlston Cabell. Colonel Cabell was a lawyer when the war of the 60's broke out, closed his office, and entered the Confederate army. He was chief of artillery of the Army of the Peninsula, and afterwards chief of artillery in McLaw's division of the Army of Northern Virginia. Colonel Cabell was a man of executive ability and literary tastes and attainments. His wife, Mrs. Jane Alston Cabell, belonged to the distinguished Alston family, so prominently identified with the history of South Carolina. She was a woman of many charms, both personal and otherwise, and exerted no little influence over her son as he grew from boyhood to maturity. For several generations, the Cabell family has been producing distinguished men. Their earliest American ancestor was Dr. William Cabell, who came from England early in the eighteenth century, settled in Amherst county, Virginia, and procured extensive grants of land along the James, in the present counties of Buckingham, Amherst, Appomattox, and Nelson. Dr. Cabell rose to great eminence as a physician and surgeon. Several of his sons rose to distinction. Among the distinguished members of the family was William H., father of H. C. and grandfather of James Alston. William H. was prominent as a lawyer, was governor of the state (1805-08), judge of the general court, and in 1811 was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeals, of which he was president at the time of his death in 1853. We may add that, in the early conventions of Virginia such as those of 1776 and 1788, and in the early legislatures, the Cabells of Amherst played a distinguished part. Nor should we fail to mention Dr. James L. Cabell, for thirty years or more an eminent professor in the University of Virginia, to which he brought no little of the lustre which encircles that noble institution; and Alexander Brown, a distinguished historian of the present day. JAMES ALSTON CABELL James Alston Cabell attended the best private schools of Richmond and the Norwood School of Nelson county. With this preparation, he entered Richmond college; thence proceeded to the University of Virginia, the Col...
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