Details

LOT 0023

Egyptian Steatite Portrait of a Ptolemaic Prince

2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.

4 in. (84 grams total, 10 cm including stand).

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.

Provenance

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.

Literature

Cf. Ashton, S.-A., Ptolemaic Royal Sculpture from Egypt, BAR International Series 923, Oxford, 2001, p.68, no. 3.2, for another small steatite head in the Petrie Museum (UC 49930) featuring a similar rounded face, wavy hair, and a twisted diadem, dated to the 1st century B.C.

Footnotes

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).