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LOT 0020
Large Egyptian Body of Horus-Harpocrates
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
8 7/8 in. (993 grams, 22.5 cm high).
An acephalic seated bronze nude statuette of Horus-Harpocrates, legs held together and arms by his side, semi-naturalistic anatomical detailing; cleaned.
ProvenanceCollection of Brugsch Pasha (1842-1930).
with Hotel Drouot, Paris, 30 September 1997, lot 643.
Ex property of Mr Naudy.
Property of a French collector.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11601-198618.
Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
Cf. The British Museum, museum number EA35417 'Bronze seated figure of Harpocrates', for similar; Walker, S. & Higgs, P. (eds), Cleopatra of Egypt, London, 2001, p.105, no.127, for a similar example.
FootnotesHorus, son of Isis and Osiris, was considered a solar deity who overcame darkness and defeated the chaotic forces of his evil uncle, the god Seth. Egyptian Pharaohs considered themselves to be reincarnations of Horus. In his youthful form, Horus the child embodies the new sun and all associated benefits. In Graeco-Roman Egypt he became Harpocrates, son of Serapis and Isis, the deity-symbol of rebirth and fertility, perhaps the most popular deity to be represented in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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LOT 0020
Large Egyptian Body of Horus-Harpocrates
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
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Egyptian Carnelian Papyrus Amulet
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, 1296-1186 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
A carnelian amuletic papyrus stalk pendant, colour graduated along the stem. 2.4 grams, 29 mm
Private collection, acquired 1999. -
Egyptian Bull-Headed Apis Shabti Head
New Kingdom, Ramesside Period, 1295-1069 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
A glazed composition shabti fragment representing the head of a bull surmounted by a sun-disc between its horns, wearing a lappet wig and with human arms crossed over the chest; the missing lower portion continued the shape of a mummiform human body; the back of the figure flat and bearing faint traces of inscription, the opening begins with a common shabti introduction which appears to be followed (as would be expected) by the name of syncretic deity Osiris Apis. 34 grams, 60 mm
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998. Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan.
The figure comes from the catacombs at Saqqara where the sacred Apis bulls were buried, known today as the Serapeum. The Apis bull was associated principally with the gods Ptah, patron deity of Memphis, and Osiris, and when one died it was afforded the kind of lavish burial befitting a pharaoh. All bull-headed shabtis date to the 19th and 20th Dynasties and were left as offerings beside the huge granite sarcophagi of the deified bulls. These shabtis were among hundreds of objects recovered from the catacombs by Auguste Mariette during his excavations there between 1850-1853. The Musée du Louvre in Paris holds the largest collection of artefacts from the Serapeum outside Egypt, including around 120 Apis shabtis. They reveal that the this fragment with its sun-disc is from a rare variant of this shabti type; just 5 of the Louvre examples have sun-discs (S 1823, N 5234 51-54), the remaining shabtis have a bull’s head with short stubby horns and no sun-disc. -
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Egyptian Bronze Oxyrhynchus Fish Figure
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £702
A bronze votive oxyrhynchus fish on a sledge base; the fish with inlaid eyes (now missing), hatched dorsal fin, hatched and engraved usekh collar, disc and horned crown fronted by sacred uraeus; suspension loop behind. 163 grams, 85 mm wide
Acquired 1980s. Private collection of L.H., Staffordshire, UK. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
The oxyrhynchus fish was sacred to the goddess Hathor, and was often depicted wearing her crown on its head, an image that may have reproduced an actual temple cult statue. It was also connected to the myth of god Osiris, believed to have eaten his penis after god Seth had dismembered and scattered the god's body. The fish was worshipped under the name Medjed.
