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Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette
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Details

LOT 0031

Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette

LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.

3 in. (15.26 grams, 78 mm).

Carved in the round, the nude standing figure of the god sporting a solar disc and uraeus headdress, wearing a sidelock, and holding a lotus flower, accompanied by an integral dorsal pillar and base; one arm missing.

Provenance

Ex Thomas collection, UK, 1980s-1990s.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

Cf. Daressy, G., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire N° 38001-39384 Statues de divinités, Cairo, 1906, pl. X, nos. 38.165, for an example in bronze with the solar disc.

Footnotes

Harpocrates is the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Hor-pa-khered, which translates as ‘Horus the Child’. This designation refers to Horus as the divine infant of Isis and Osiris. His nudity represents youth and purity. The sun disc and lotus flower symbolises divine rebirth and solar renewal. The sun disc connects him to Ra and the daily cycle of rebirth, while the lotus—opening with the sunrise—emphasises creation and emergence from chaos. Together, these elements express triumph over death and the promise of eternal life.

CONDITION
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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0031

Egyptian Steatite Harpocrates Statuette

Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)

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