Details

LOT 0055

Very Large Egyptian Bronze Oxyrhynchus Fish of Per-Medjed with Hieroglyphic Inscription

LATE-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.

6 3/4 in. (585 grams, 17 cm).

Modelled in the round on a sledge attached by ventral and pectoral fins, a forked tail, a dorsal ridge, and a tapering nose, featuring recessed circular eyes filled with enamel, a horned sun disc headdress fronted by a uraeus, and a suspension loop behind; a few hieroglyphs of a dedication remain visible on the underside of the sledge, which may be interpreted as ‘….the great give life (to)…’ (…t wr rdi͗ Ꜥnḫ t….); presumably, 'the great' followed the name of a deity, now lost.

Provenance

Acquired from Gallery Reiner, Paris, France, 1981.
Private collection, Europe.

Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.150583 dated 29 November 2013.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12375-226676.

Literature

Cf. Kozloff, A.P., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, fig. 60, for a similar example; Tiribilli, E., The bronze figurines of the Petrie Museum from 2000 BC to AD 400, London, 2018, p.229, for discussion.

Footnotes

The Medjed, a type of elephant-snout fish (Mormyrus kannume), was revered in ancient Egyptian religion, particularly in Per-Medjed, better known by its Greek name, Oxyrhynchus Polis. This version of the name, meaning "city of the sharp-nosed," reflects the fish's distinctive appearance as depicted in Egyptian art. These fish were believed to have consumed the penis of Osiris, the god who was dismembered and scattered by his brother Seth. As sacred creatures, figurines of the Medjed were often adorned with a horned sun-disc headdress worn by the goddesses Hathor and Isis, suggesting a close association with both. Some figurines, like this example, featured suspension loops, allowing them to be worn as pendant amulets.