Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group

With a round face, large eyes, a narrow nose that broadens at the end, and full lips downturned at the corners; the forehead with a distinctive deep furrow above the brow; a narrow, twisted diadem encircling his wavy hair; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 84 grams total, 10 cm including stand



Private collection, Bern, Switzerland. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12631-236408.

The Greek hairstyle is a characteristic feature of Ptolemaic royal portraiture, as is the twisted diadem - a Greek interpretation of the Egyptian headband (the sšd) - which appears on several portrait heads of Ptolemaic boy-kings and princes. The distinctive furrow is intriguing, as it contrasts with the typically blemish-free physiognomy of most Ptolemaic royal sculpture. However, a similar furrow can be seen on the portrait head of a provincial governor from Dendera, dated to the 2nd century B.C. (Bothmer, B.V., Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period 700 B.C. to A.D. 100, New York, 1960, pp. 144-143, pl. 112, nos. 301-302), which may indicate an artistic trend employed in high-status sculpture at that time. It has been suggested that small royal portrait heads, such as this example, may have served as votives. The lack of an Egyptian-style back pillar on this and similar pieces supports the possibility that they were inserted into statues made of different materials (Ashton, S.-A., Ptolemaic Royal Sculpture from Egypt, BAR International Series 923, Oxford, 2001, p.12).

Wedjat amulet with applied black detailing to the pupil; upper edge absent. 11 grams, 59 mm



with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.

Presented in a striding pose with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides; wearing his emblem, the lotus-flower headdress from which two plumes emerge, and a menat on each side; dorsal pillar with hieroglyphs, beginning with the incantation: "Words spoken by Nefertum, son of Sekhmet...." 42.8 grams, 11.6 cm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Nefertum is usually depicted as a young man wearing a headdress with a lotus flower or a crown featuring the flower. The god is often linked to beauty, healing, and the lotus flower, with his cult connected to the royal family and the cycle of rebirth. Nefertum’s imagery and symbolism associate him with themes of creation, renewal, and the sun; he symbolises the first sunlight and the pleasant scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, emerging from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water lily.