Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0456
Egyptian Limestone Figure of Isis-Aphrodite
PTOLEMAIC-ROMAN PERIOD, 332 B.C.-200 A.D.
4 1/2 in. (109 grams total, 11.5 cm including stand).
A limestone figure modelled in the half-round, lying naked on a rectangular bed, executed with semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing, voluminous coiffed hair and painted necklace, armbands and distinctive ornamental girdle at the waist; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.
Provenance
with Secret Eye Gallery, New York City, 1977.
with Arte Primitivo, New York, USA, 8 October, 2003, lot 66.
Private collection of Professor Kenneth Graham, London, UK.
Accompanied by an original Arte Primitivo catalogue page.
Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Footnotes
This syncretic figure combines the Egyptian goddess Isis and the Greek goddess Aphrodite, a deity popular from the 3rd century B.C. into the Roman Period, who embodied aspects of fertility, marriage, and childbirth.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Egyptian Faience Figure of Bes
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
A green glazed composition figure of Bes standing on a base; plumed headdress and loop absent. 4.79 grams, 34 mm
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. -
Egyptian Seated Cat Amulet
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
A carved carnelian amuletic pendant of the cat goddess Bastet sitting on a rectangular base, suspension loop behind the shoulders. 1.97 grams, 19 mm
Acquired 1980s. Private collection of L.H., Staffordshire, UK. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher. -
Egyptian Bronze Goddess Bastet as Seated Cat
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
A bronze figure of the cat goddess Bastet, squatting poised and alert with her tail wrapped close to right side of her body, seated on a tongue-shaped base, short lug below; accompanied by a custom-made display base. 137 grams total, 10 cm high including stand
Acquired 1980s. Private collection of L.H., Staffordshire, UK. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
Bastet was a powerful goddess of Lower Egypt, one who was protective and could bring about great prosperity. Cat statuettes were among some of the most common zoomorphic dedications of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. Small statuettes like this one would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Sometimes larger hollow examples held a cat mummy inside.