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LOT 0032
Egyptian Bust of Ptah
LATE PERIOD, 26TH-30TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 664-343 B.C.
8 3/4 in. (1.39 kg total, 22.3 cm high including stand).
A white limestone figure of the god Ptah with false beard, wearing an enveloping cloak and a broad wesekh-collar, holding the shaft of a was sceptre; serene, oval face with almond-shaped eyes and fleshy lips; remnants of dorsal pillar to reverse; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx private Belgium collection, 1960s.
with Vanderkindere Auctions, Brussels, Belgium, 26 February 2013, lot 261.
English private collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11605-199743.
Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Cf. The Walters Museum, accession number 54.1017, for a similar figure in bronze created within this time period.
FootnotesPtah is attested from the beginning of ancient Egypt’s dynastic history and was a creator god, a god of craftsmen, and the patron deity of the Memphite region. The principal temple of the god was located in the city of Memphis.
The fragmentary back pillar on this statuette indicates that it was most probably a temple offering, originally inscribed with an invocation to Ptah together with the donor’s name. Such votive figurines with back pillars naming the god and the dedicator occur in various materials, including faience and stone.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Glass Anubis Head Inlay
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
An opaque black glass inlay in the form of the head of Anubis in jackal form; repaired. 19.2 grams, 58 mm high
French collection, 1960s-early 2000s. From an important Paris gallery, France. -
Egyptian Djed Pillar Amulet
7th-1st century B.C.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
A large finely-made wooden amuletic djed pillar; old collector's accession number 'E.436' to underside; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 106 grams, 17 cm high
with ink inscribed 'E.436' to base. Acquired in 1970. Ex private European collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11602-199041.
The djed pillar symbolises stability and is usually understood to be the spine of the god Ptah although its origins are more probably in cult practices involving sheaves of reeds which were revered due to the general absence of trees from the Egyptian landscape. The djed later came to be symbolise Seker, the falcon god of Memphis and Ptah, the Memphite god of craftsmen, who carried a sceptre formed as a combination of the djed and the ankh. The cult of Ptah waned and gave way to that of Osiris so that by the New Kingdom (16th century B.C.), the djed had become associated with Osiris, part of whose cult included a ceremony for raising the djed representing Osiris's triumph over Seth. -
Egyptian Faience Shabti
Late Period, 30th Dynasty, circa 380 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
A mottled green and white glazed composition shabti with dorsal pillar, tripartite wig, horizontal and vertical panels hieroglyphic (or Demotic?) text to the lower body with scribe sign. 68.5 grams, 12.5 cm high
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998.
