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Lot 105*
An Egyptian limestone anthropoid ancestor bust
7 July 2016, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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An Egyptian limestone anthropoid ancestor bust
New Kingdom, 18th-20th Dynasty, circa 1550-1070 B.C.
Wearing a tripartite wig with traces of paint remaining, the mound shape bust terminating beneath the schematic elbows, the wide face with plump cheeks and prominent chin, the large eyes with delineated lids, cosmetic lines and brows, the large ears pierced, an incised broad collar between the lappets with three bands of beads, an incised decorative band encircling the bust around the shoulders with a lotus-like motif above at each shoulder, an incised figural scene and hieroglyphic text on the chest, including a standing male offering figure on the right wearing a short wig and plain kilt, a central column of text beneath the broad collar inscribed with the beginning of the hetep-di-nesw offering formula: 'An offering which the king gives to Osiris (?)', '95.1' in red ink on the reverse, 26cm high
New Kingdom, 18th-20th Dynasty, circa 1550-1070 B.C.
Wearing a tripartite wig with traces of paint remaining, the mound shape bust terminating beneath the schematic elbows, the wide face with plump cheeks and prominent chin, the large eyes with delineated lids, cosmetic lines and brows, the large ears pierced, an incised broad collar between the lappets with three bands of beads, an incised decorative band encircling the bust around the shoulders with a lotus-like motif above at each shoulder, an incised figural scene and hieroglyphic text on the chest, including a standing male offering figure on the right wearing a short wig and plain kilt, a central column of text beneath the broad collar inscribed with the beginning of the hetep-di-nesw offering formula: 'An offering which the king gives to Osiris (?)', '95.1' in red ink on the reverse, 26cm high
Footnotes
Provenance:
The Harer Family Trust Collection, acquired 28 December 1992.
With Galerie Cybele, Paris, 1992.
Gerard van der Burgh Collection, Paris, until June 1983, originally acquired by his mother.
Exhibited:
San Bernardino, Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art.
Published:
Keith, J., Anthropoid Busts of Deir el Medineh and Other Sites and Collections, IFAO, Cairo, 2011, pp. 356-360.
Keith, J., Abstracts from the Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt, San Antonio, 2008, pp.65-66.
Literature:
For a recent citation on ancestor (anthropoid) busts cf. K. Exell, 'Ancestor Bust' in UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles, 2008, where it states that only 150 extant examples of ancestor busts are known, with about half discovered in Deir el-Medina, not only from temples and chapels but also from domestic shrines in private homes.
According to J. Keith, this is one of only five ancestor busts with hieroglyphs or signs; the hetep-di-nesw offering formula and the male offering figure also appear to be unique to the Harer bust.
For a similar ancestor bust in The British Museum, see BM no. 73988. Also cf. S. D'Auria et al., Mummies and Magic, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1988, p. 149, no. 90.