Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian: Sculpture (19)

Terracotta head of Harpocrates wearing the double crown of Egypt flanked by lotus buds.
The expertly modeled face shows almond-shaped eyes with sharply defined eyelids, a broad nose, and fleshy lips. The head is bald except for small tufts of hair and the side lock of a child.
Harpokrates, the infant son of Isis and Horus, symbolized both youth and fertility. Harpokrates was revered as the patron deity of childhood.
For a close parallel, cf. item no...

Large bone doll with prominent head and segmented body. The round face with wide nose and slit mouth. The eyes drawn in ink and still faintly visible. The hair of the figure is piled up high and combed sideward.
Pierced at the chest level for fixation of separate arms which were bent forward at the elbow.
In the cavities remains of a light brown pigment that covered the piece.
These figures are often classified as dolls and may have served as inexpensive toys...

Egyptian terracotta fragment of Harpocrates riding a horse, whose mane can be guessed on the right.
The youthful god is dressed in a short tunic and wears a stippled floral wreath topped by the Egyptian double crown. Harpokrates is shown with the right forefinger to his mouth.
Harpokrates was the infant son of Isis and Horus and symbolized both youth and fertility...

Terracotta head of a slave or peasant with coarse and asymmetrical features.
The man shows a wide face, short chin, and small ears set at the level of the temples. The almond-shaped eyes are raised, one of them with slight outline of the eyelids. The knobby nose is very close to the full lips underneath.
The bald head is covered by a cloth cap...

Highly stylized female figure carved from a piece of bone. The prominent head with two deep vertical incisions that delimit the sides of the nose and of the pursed lips. Swiftly incised horizontal lines to delineate the brow and the chin. The eyes and other details may have been painted.
Deep incisions across the chest, marked lines around the waist. Drilled holes to the sides of the breasts, to thread through a piece of string to attach separate arms...

Rare terracotta group with a rat and two mice seen side by side gnawing on the bait of a mousetrap.
According to Pedrizet perhaps an ex-voto offered by a person whose house or granary was infested with mice and rats.
Published as item no. 417, p. 151, pl. 120 (center right) in: Paul Perdrizet. Les terres cuites grecques d’Égypte de la collection Fouquet. Paris 1921. (copy of the publication record joined)
For a rat trap, cf...

Large head of Serapis shown with a fulsome beard and fringed hairdo over the forehead. On the crown a closed modius decorated with an olive branch.
The face with a small nose and flat eye cavities with thin eyelids. The mouth enclosed by a stringy moustache.
Modeled in the round. Two-piece mold with cursory back side. Remains of the original gesso layer in the cavities. Nice Hellenistic style.
Large-sized heads of Serapis are relatively rare...

Terracotta fragment of Harpokrates wearing a large stippled wreath topped by the Egyptian double crown.
The hair is arranged in tight curls and frames the face, which has large eyes with sharply defined eyelids, a broad nose and fleshy lips. The right index finger points to his mouth.
The youthful god is dressed in a long tunic, belted at the waist.
Harpokrates, the infant son of Isis and Horus, symbolized both youth and fertility...

Votive figure of a naked woman, standing with her arms to the thighs. The head shows schematic features and a casket like wig. Schematic rendering of the body, crudely carved in the round.
Enhanced with red and black painted decoration. Red for the necklaze, the upper arm bracelets and the (decorative lines) around the shins. Remains of black on the hair and the pelvic triangle.
Freestanding figures are comparatively rare. Other variants show women standing within shrines or niche...

Terracotta figure of a seated baboon, animal sacred to Thot, the Egyptian god of writing and other intellectual pursuits.
Crisp facial features with pronounced supra-orbital ridges, deep set eyes and a dominant, protruding muzzle. The cheek fur and the upper body cape are typical for male baboons. The genitalia are exposed.
The dog faced baboon was a creature associated with the moon, as shown by the crescent moon and the disc on its head.
For a nice bronze example in the Pe...

Highly stylized female figure carved from a piece of bone. The prominent head with nose and pursed lips in slight relief. The eyes and eyebrows drawn with faint traces of the applied ink. Pierced ears to bear small earrings.
Drilled holes at the shoulder level to thread through a piece of string to attach separate arms. The preserved arm with notched arm bend and detailed hand.
Commonly referred as ‘Coptic dolls’, these figurines seem to appear suddenly in Egypt and Palestine, ...

Terracotta female head of an Orans or Baubo figure. The broad nose is abraded and flat. The swung lips contrast with the white coat that used to be overpainted. The eyes are almost completely covered by the white pigment. The woman shows a broad forehead, curly hairdo and a stippled wreath over her head. The earlobes pierced to wear earrings.
Moldmade of two halves. Abrasion to the high points, and remains of the white coat in the cavities. Terracotta
Egyptian, Roman Period, 250-3...

Highly stylized female figure carved from a long bone. Details of the head, the anatomy and tattoos carefully drawn in ink and faintly visible.
Deep incisions to delimit the different parts of the body. The incised X on the chest may indicate the cross bands of a garment.
Drilled holes at the shoulder level to attach separate arms.
For a closely related example, cf. item 157a, pp. 126-127 in: André Wiese. Antikensammlung Basel und Sammlung Ludwig. Die ägyptische Abteilun...

Baluster-shaped fitting with horizontal grooves cut into the outside surface. Pair of drilled holes to dowel the piece.
For a comparable example, cf. acc. no. LDUCE-UC56882 in the Petrie Museum database.
Bone
Coptic Egypt, Roman to Byzantine Period, 4th-6th century BC
H. 6.6 cm (2.6 in)
Minor chipping, otherwise intact and fine.
Ex Royal Athena Galleries, New York, sold as part of a group of Egyptian bone objects in 2014. (page relating to the group join...

Human-headed Ba-bird with tripartite wig and false beard, the head surmounted by a disk.
The wings lean close to the body, the feet show powerful claws. The back is flat.
Superb made with much use of the modeling tool.
The Egyptian idea of the Ba conceives a free-soul (Freiseele, Exkursionsseele) capable of independent existence from the body. It thus leaves and reunites with the body at will. The Ba-bird is often depicted hovering over the deceased's mummy as well as leavi...

Carved limestone head of a man with a voluminous wig. The man shows a gentle smile, which is emphasized by the wear of the face’s high points.
The ears appear just below faint sideburns that protrude from the striated wig.
Elaborate carving as visible in the corner of the right eye.
Limestone
Egyptian, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 BC
H. 3.6 cm (1.4 in)
H. with stand 5.3 cm (2.1 in)
Broken at the neck level. Abraded nose and high points. Mounted on ...

Terracotta grotesque head with typical pejorative traits of a slave.. The bearded man shows a high, furrowed brow, bulged eyebrows, and a thick, hooked nose. The thick lower lip is contoured by a moustache.
For a comparable example, cf. item no. 489 in: Eva Bayer-Niemeier. Bildwerke der Sammlung Kaufmann. Band I. Griechisch-römische Terrakotten. Melsungen 1988.
Much use of the modelling stick. Moldmade of two halves, only the front surviving. Traces of a very thin white coating or...

Terracotta head of a man with a round hairstyle which covers the ears. The hair with impressed circles and remains of white color.
The man shows wide almond-shaped eyes with neatly marked cosmetic lines and eyebrows. The prominent nose with pieced nostrils, the lips pressed to a gentle smile.
Elaborate style with much use of the modeling tool. The piece constitutes a fragment of figurine or a sculptor's model.
For a related head, cf. inv. no. E.07619 in the Royal Museums of...