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Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 664-30 B.C.
11 1/4 in. (244 grams total, 18.5 cm).
Stylised ostrich plume surmounting a ram's horn, uraeus with sun disk to one side; side tang and loop on the underside for attachment; the plume decorated with a series of narrow horizontal recesses to accept inlays, with some original remaining as well as later replacements in blue glass.
PROVENANCE:
UK private collection of Werner Forman (1921-2010), formed between 1950-1980.
LITERATURE:
Cf. Tiribilli, E., The bronze figurines of the Petrie Museum from 2000 BC to AD 400, GHP Egyptology 28, London, 2018, p.289, cat. no.461, for a comparable element.
FOOTNOTES:
The atef crown consists of a central element similar to the hedjet or White Crown, flanked by two ostrich feathers, often with a pair of ram's horns beneath and uraei on either side. The meaning of atef is uncertain, but it may mean either 'his might' or 'his terror'. The crown first appeared in the 5th Dynasty and is particularly associated with the underworld god Osiris.
