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Lot 22

An Egyptian bronze figure of a priest

7 December 2021, 12:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £12,112.50 inc. premium

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An Egyptian bronze figure of a priest
Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-664 B.C.
Depicted striding with his left leg advanced, the left arm reaching forward and bent at the elbow, with typical shaven head and large almond-shaped unarticulated eyes, and exaggerated rolls of flesh above the stomach, wearing a short, belted, striated kilt, the Fetish of Abydos engraved onto his chest, 24cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection, UK, acquired by the mid 1960s or earlier; and thence by descent to the present owner.

The Fetish of Abydos was the emblem of the region surrounding the ancient city of Abydos, and of its patron god, Osiris. The Fetish of Abydos depicted a beehive-like container topped by plumes, which was thought to hold a reliquary containing the head of Osiris. This priest was likely once holding an image of the god or another, associated, fetish before him.

For a striding priest wearing the same type of kilt and with similar facial features, see a statuette in the Brooklyn Museum, acc. no. 37.363E. For other bronze striding priests dating to the Third Intermediate Period see the Metropolitan Museum, New York, acc. nos 47.105.3 and 2010.259.

Additional information

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