Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0025
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Baubo
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
6 1/4 in. (375 grams, 15.8 cm).
The squatting figure depicted nude, a garland upon her propoloma and thick braids falling on her shoulders, her legs bent and spread wide, her right hand touching her genitals and the left hand raised holding a lotus flower.
Provenance
with Superior Galleries, Los Angeles, USA.
Ex Dr W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, USA, March 1985.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Published
Exhibited in the Robert & Frances Fullerton Museum or Art (RAFFMA), California State University from 1998-2023 (Reference No. EL01.098.1998)
Literature
Cf. Nagwa Abdelnaby, A.I., ‘Two unpublished Figurines of Women Purifying themselves in the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria’ in Bulletin of the Center Payrological, 38 (1), November 2021, pp.645-664, figs.3, lett. A and D.
Footnotes
Baubo was a minor divinity of the Greek mythology, linked to the cult of Demeter and Persephone. The statuette belongs to the second type of Baubo figurines, widespread in the last Ptolemaic and Roman period in Egypt. The Egyptian Baubo figures are split into two groups, and this one belongs to the first group depicting a woman seating frontally whilst holding a musical instrument. In some of these figurines her right hand is touching her genitalia. Many of them were used as amulets or as ex-voto.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0025
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Baubo
Estimate £700 - 900€810 - 1,040 (for guidance only)$950 - 1,220 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Large Egyptian Bronze Statue of Khonsu
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Standing in advancing pose on a rectangular base; the god modelled with a disc representing the full-moon surmounting a crescent new moon atop his head and fronted by a uraeus, the falcon-head sports a finely striated tripartite wig and with beaded silver wire frames to the (once inlaid) eyes; wearing a broad wesekh collar; the left arm bent and fist drilled to grip a staff, right arm straight to the side with similar drilled fist; pleated shendyt kilt and belt to the hips; mounted on a tiered socle base. 896 grams total, 27 cm including stand
Very fine condition.
Smith family collection, Cambridge, UK since 1949. Private UK collection since 1978. Accompanied by a scholarly note by Egyptologist Paul Whelan. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11033-183985. 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.
The moon god Khonsu (whose name means 'wanderer', referring to the passage of the moon across the sky) is known as a blood-thirsty sky-deity in the Pyramid Texts. In New Kingdom Thebes, however, he was regarded as a far more benevolent deity, being the child of Amun and Mut, and provided with his own temple at Karnak. There, he was considered to control destiny. Khonsu can appear in human form with a side-lock of youth, wearing an enveloping garment, and holding royal regalia, and also as a falcon-headed man with the full moon and crescent new moon headdress, as with this fine example. In his falcon-headed form he frequently holds an ankh symbol and a was-sceptre, for which the hands of this piece were drilled to accept the god's well-known attributes. -
Egyptian Silver Crocodile Amulet
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Figure of a crocodile modelled in the round with pierced suspension lug. 0.49 grams, 15 mm
From an early 20th century collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Crocodile amulets were worn for protective purposes to guard against dangerous creatures. -
Phoenician Blue Glass Bead Group
6th-3rd century B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £624
Including drum-shaped types with marvered eye-motifs. 65 grams total, 10-25 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The category belongs to the cylindrical turquoise eye beads with dark blue and white decorations. Pre-Roman glass beads of this type, generally dated to the Iron Age (end of the ninth century B.C. to 218 B.C.), have been found in significant amounts in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, especially in Phoenician and Punic burial contexts.
