Egyptian Cobra Statuette

A cream-white ceramic mask with heavy brow over a narrow bridge to the nose, voids for the eyes, small deep-set mouth with full lower lip, rounded chin; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 739 grams total, 25 cm high including stand

Fine condition, edges chipped.

Ex UK art market, 1970s. Property of a London gentleman.

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. 1.39 kg total, 22.3 cm high including stand



Ex 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.

Ptah 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.

A bronze figurine of Osiris standing with flail and crook held in crossed arms, plaited beard, Atef crown to his head with uraeus above the brow, mounted on a custom-made stand. 150 grams total, 12 cm including stand

Fine condition.

Property of a London gentleman; acquired in London in 1976.