Phoenician Terracotta Head

Statuette depicting the couchant falcon god Sokar with wings folded along the sides of the body; chest, wings, and legs with painted details; inked legend on the underside reading 'Ex George Wathen / 1893 / 12'. 16 grams, 71 mm



Ex George Henry Wathen collection from 1843, who wrote and illustrated the important work 'The Arts, Antiquity and Chronology of Ancient Egypt'. From the collection of David Donlan (1947–2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery.

Wooden images of the raptor-form god Sokar typically decorated the tops of rectangular wooden coffins and canopic chests, which held jars containing the deceased’s mummified organs. Sokar was a protective god of the Memphite necropolis and was often merged with the funerary god Osiris and Ptah, the creator deity of Memphis. George Henry Wathen, FGS (21 November 1816 – 10 November 1879) was a geologist, author, magazine publisher, and South African politician of the Victorian era known primarily for his books on the antiquities of Egypt and the gold fields of Victoria, Australia.

Two wooden panels showing two standing nimbate figures, probably Saint Daloucham on the right, wearing a red veil, and a bearded figure on the left, probably Saint Pachomius, holding a small cross and prayer beads; mounted on a fabric-covered backing board. 1.05 kg total, 65.2 x 50 cm



Leclere, Marseille, 20 April 2013, no.99. Private collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12184-221677.

Stylistically, the icon can be compared to the paintings in the Church of St. Thomas in Achmim, which could also help identify one of the two saints. Especially important in this regard are the parallels between the robes of the saints and those of Saint Thomas in the church’s Doom, with long folds coloured with identical colours; the floral decoration of the sleeves of the inner tunic, and the faces of the Saints, with oval and widened eyes. The influence of Ethiopian paintings of the same period is evident in the Church of Achmim, like in this icon. The painting preserves the distant memory of medieval paintings, through a Coptic cultural humus whose vestiges are still today in Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. In the Church of Achmim are represented the martyrs of Achmim, i.e. Saint Pachomius and his sister Saint Daloucham. It is not impossible that one of the represented ascetic monks could be Pachomius. It is also probable that the icon was part of a wider group, representing also other important characters of the Coptic Church.

Depicted nude in an advancing pose; silver inlaid eyes, braided sidelock of youth; left hand by his side, drilled to accept a separate element, the other outstretched at a right angle to his body, holding a tapering cylindrical staff, not belonging; he may originally have held a sistrum, an ancient Egyptian percussion instrument, or a menat, both closely associated with the goddess Hathor; here, Ihy wears the Pschent crown with remains of uraeus, and an inlaid gold necklace suspended with an ib pendant around his neck; finely detailed facial features, with engraved Nekhbet vulture with outspread wings at the back of the crown; integral lugs on soles of feet; mounted on a custom-made stand. 899 grams total, 25 cm including stand



From the Singer family collection, Germany, acquired circa 1962. with A.A.L., Geneva, 1980. with Christie's, London, 25 April 2015, no.163 [£50,000-£70,000]. Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13309-258229.

Ihy was an Egyptian god associated with music, joy, and ritual celebrations, particularly as the divine child of Hathor and of Horus or Ra. He is typically depicted as a youthful figure, often naked or lightly clothed, wearing a sidelock of youth and carrying a sistrum or menat, both percussion instruments closely connected with ritual performances in Hathor's cult, especially at the temples of Dendera and Edfu. His name is generally understood to mean 'the musician' or 'the one who plays music,' although it may also mean 'calf', a reference to his relationship with the cow-goddess Hathor. Bronze statuettes of Ihy, such as this example, were probably produced as votive offerings dedicated in temples, especially those devoted to Hathor. Worshippers may have commissioned such figures in the hope of obtaining divine favour, protection, fertility, healing, or participation in the blessings linked with music and festivity. Some examples may also have served as cult images used in temple ceremonies or as protective objects placed in domestic or funerary settings.