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LOT 0189
Roman Bronze Statuette of Harpocrates
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 in. (4 in.) (213 grams, 73 mm (276 grams total, 10.2 cm including stand)).
Presented as a very young child sitting on the ground, wearing a long tunic which covers his body and legs down to his feet; right arm bent and hand raised to the shoulder, left hand curved around an object (absent); sporting the conventional sidelock behind the right ear; mounted in a custom-made tiered wooden stand.
ProvenanceEx Hanna Saba collection, Ambassador to Egypt-USA-France (1909-1992).
Private European collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12098-218159.
Cf. similar item in the British Museum, London, under accession no.1896,0724.1 with the god in standing pose; see Swan Hall, E., 'Harpocrates and Other Child Deities in Ancient Egyptian Sculpture' in Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 14, 1977, pp.55-58, fig.1, pl.XXVII; fig.4 for full discussion.
FootnotesThe god's name was Hellenized in the Ptolemaic era and later adopted by the Romans, but it originated in the figure of 'Horus the child', son of Isis and Osiris, who was worshipped especially in Alexandria.
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LOT 0189
Roman Bronze Statuette of Harpocrates
Estimate £2,500 - 3,500€2,900 - 4,060 (for guidance only)$3,380 - 4,730 (for guidance only)
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Roman Haematite Magical Gemstone
2nd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Ellipsoid in plan with chamfered rim to obverse with womb with key and roots; above womb the figures of Isis, Anubis, Chnoubis, and Nephthys (from left to right); reverse with facing Medusa mask with wings to the brow below a coiled snake, spiders and other items. 2.84 grams, 24 mm
From the collection of magical objects of the late Mr A. Cotton, Brockenhurst, Hampshire, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12354-225280.
During the Graeco-Roman period, the traditional genres of Egyptian or Near Eastern temple magic gems, particularly protective magic against demons, snakes and scorpions, seemed largely to have disappeared, and new genres became dominant, for different types of divination (direct visions of god, bowl divination, dream sending, Homer oracles), malign magic, aggressive (mainly erotic) magic, magic for personal success and attractiveness. This type of amulet was intended to aid childbirth and avoid illness and dangers for its attendant. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Bust
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
With facetted shoulders, disc bezel with low-relief portrait bust. 5.76 grams, 25.26 mm overall, 17.31 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Nike
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
With stepped bezel, intaglio figure of Nike or Victory with wings spread. 4.53 grams, 21.65 mm overall, 17.36 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J, USA 4 3/4, Europe 8.69, Japan 8)
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
