Details

LOT 0021

Egyptian Faience Figure of Nefertum

PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.

5 1/8 in. (71 grams total, 13 cm including stand).

Turquoise faience standing figure of Nefertum in a striding pose with arms at the sides, sporting a black coloured tripartite wig surmounted by the god's distinctive headdress consisting of a lotus flower with two plumes on top; a suspension loop at the back; repaired.

Provenance

Property from an American deceased estate, acquired between 1970 and 1989.
with Bonham's, London, 28 October 2009, no.81 [Part].

Literature

Cf. Andrews, C., and van Dijk, J., Objects for Eternity: Egyptian Antiquities from the W. Arnold Meijer Collection, Mainz am Rhein, 2006, p.229, no.3.41, for a similar faience figurine.

Footnotes

Nefertum was closely associated with the creator god Ptah and the goddesses Sekhmet and Bastet. He represented the first sunlight and the sweet scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower (nymphaea caerulea). According to beliefs, the sun rose from the bloom of a blue lotus, embodying notions of rebirth and rejuvenation. Additionally, as the lotus was seen as a symbol of fertility, it is possible that this amulet was also worn for that purpose.