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_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
_200x200.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
_900x900.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
_200x200.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
.jpg "Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx")
LOT 0038
Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx
LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.
9 in. (1.1 kg total, 23 cm high including stand).
Standing falcon-headed deity with eyes inlaid in gold, wearing the traditional shendyt kilt, a tripartite wig topped by the double crown (pa-sekhemty) fronted by a uraeus, as worn by Egyptian pharaohs, and a wesekh collar; the figure depicted striding forward, with the position of the left arm and drilled hand indicating that it originally held the shaft of a sceptre or a weapon; the right hand also drilled to hold an attribute; the rectangular base featuring a low-relief depiction of an oryx beneath the god’s feet, the four sides of the base bear a line of hieroglyphic invocation giving the name of the deity represented by the statuette and those of the dedicator and his family; two tenons on underside for attachment; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Sakae Art Gallery, Nagoya, Japan, 1981.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Alberto Pollastrini.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13161-248074.
Small is Beautiful: The Art of Sculpture; Christie's, South Kensington, 6-20 October 2015, no.24.
LiteratureFor comparison, see an Egyptian bronze Horus of Hebenu standing atop a bound oryx from the Recanati Collection, Christie’s, New York, 26 January 2023, no.20; further parallels in New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 45.2.11), Baltimore (Walters Art Museum, 54.1013), and Cairo (CG 60359) are discussed by Hill, M., 'Small Divine Statuettes Outfitting Religion,' in Masson-Bergoff, A. (ed.), Statues in Context: Production, Meaning and (Re)-uses, Leuven, 2019, pp.35-49; Daressy, G., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire N° 38001-39384 Statues de divinités, Cairo, 1906, p.161 (no.38618), pl. XXXIV, for a similar example.
FootnotesThe hieroglyphic inscription surrounding the base is worn and difficult to interpret. Based on the formulas preserved on similar statuettes, a tentative interpretation of its meaning can be proposed. The text begins with the customary formula ḏd mdw, meaning “words to be spoken,” followed by the hieroglyph of a falcon, indicating that the deity addressed is Horus. The following signs are unclear, making it hard to identify which specific form of Horus is meant, possibly Horus of Hebenu or Horus the Elder. The formula continues with a plea for the god to grant the dedicator life, prosperity, health, longevity, and a good old age. The inscription ends with the name of the offerer: “Pa-iu, son of Pa-di-Aset; his mother Ta-heret; and his wife Aset, justified.”
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LOT 0038
Egyptian Bronze Figure of Horus Standing on an Oryx
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000€23,200 - 34,800 (for guidance only)$27,000 - 40,500 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Faience Mayhes Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Standing erect with dorsal pillar and rectangular base, arms straight and one leg advancing; lion-head wearing atef crown and a uraeus; mounted on a custom-made stand. 50.8 grams total, 84 mm including stand
Ex early 20th century London, UK, collection.
Mahes was an Egyptian lion-headed deity linked to divine protection, royal authority, and retributive justice. Considered a son of the goddess Bastet—or, in some traditions, Sekhmet—he embodied the fierce, solar power of the sun god Re and served as a fierce protector of cosmic order. Mahes was especially venerated in the Delta region, notably at Leontopolis, where his leonine form highlighted his role as a guardian and destroyer of enemies. Iconographically, he is commonly depicted as a lion or, as here, a man with a lion’s head, wearing an atef- crown. -
Egyptian Faience Triad Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £222
Depicting in high relief the Osirian triad (Isis, Horus, Nephthys) standing side by side on an integral plinth against a dorsal pillar; Nephthys (right) and Isis (left) are shown frontally, wearing headdresses with their specific attributes, each holding the hands of the central Horus figure, shown naked and with the side-lock of youth; a ribbed loop at the top for suspension. 8.56 grams, 33 mm
From the collection of a Swedish noble family, 1920s.
Isis and Nephthys operate as complementary sister deities who guard both Osiris and the deceased through mourning, magical protection, and ritual lamentation, while Horus, the child of Isis, signifies renewal and legitimate kingship. On amulets, the triad translates into a compact visual statement of protection: the deceased is imagined as being held within the sisters’ magical and ritual care, while Horus embodies the successful outcome of that protection in the form of rebirth and continuity. -
Egyptian Granite Seated Figure
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,667
Fragment of a statue of an official, comprising the torso and legs clad in an ankle-length robe and seated on a rectangular-section seat with stepped base and short, curved backrest and rear dorsal pillar; the left hand carved with the palm resting along the thigh; the right hand similarly placed but with the hand gripping a folded piece of cloth of which the ends are draped over the lower thigh above the knee; traces of an old label to reverse. 4.1 kg, 18.7 cm
Private collection, Europe. with Bonhams & Brooks, 8th November 2001, no.265. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams & Brooks catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12584-232097.
The official would have been shown wearing a longer cloak-like garment rather than a waist-height kilt, as the line of the folded edge is visible above where a waistband would typically be.
