Egyptian Bronze Bastet + Priestess of Bastet

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Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine A...

By Artemis Gallery

Nov 16, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-11-16 10:00:00 2023-11-16 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-14161
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Nautical, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 22nd Dynasty, ca. 943 to 720 BCE; Late Dynastic Period, ca. 712 to 332 BCE. An impressive pair of figurines from Ancient Egypt: a leaded bronze statuette of the feline goddess Bastet from the Late Dynastic period and a bronze priestess of Bastet from the Third Intermediate period. The goddess of fertility, festivity, and intoxication, Bastet is shown in traditional form with a cat head and a human body. She holds a sistrum or Egyptian rattle in her right hand, while her left carries an aegis - a symbol of protection in the form of a broad collar surmounted by a lion goddess' head wearing a sun disc, perhaps representing Bastet herself in her original fierce manifestation. Size of Bastet: 1.4" W x 3.9" H (3.6 cm x 9.9 cm); 4.2" H (10.7 cm) on included custom stand; of priestess: 1.4" W x 3.6" H (3.6 cm x 9.1 cm); 5" H (12.7 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The aegis is probably to be interpreted as the top of the counterpoise to a 'menyet' collar of loosely strung beads, another musical instrument connected with merrymaking; when shaken the beads would clack together. Similarly, the leaded bronze priestess also carries a sistrum in her right hand and an aegis in her left with an additional basket held in the crook of her elbow.
  
  Bastet was initially a lioness goddess associated with the solar god and channeled its destructive powers. However, "With the Middle Kingdom the cat appeared as Bastet's sacred animal and after the New Kingdom she was depicted with a cat's head. The goddess' character became more and more friendly. She was connected with the moon . . . [and] The 'raging' aspect of earlier times was transferred to the goddess Sekhmet, who thereby became the negative, destructive side of Bastet." (Lurker, Manfred. "The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Egypt." Thames and Hudson, London, 1986, p. 32) Ever since, statuettes comprised of various materials have characterized her as a doting mother cat. Her cult expanded decisively when her town of Bubastis (derived from Per Bastet, meaning "House of Bastet") became the royal residence of the kings of the 22nd Dynasty during the 10th century BCE. The city hosted an annual festival honoring Bastet in celebration of the Nile flood waters, and she was honored throughout Egypt through the first millennium BCE.
  
  Beyond the goddess, cats - known in ancient Egypt as "mau" - were honored and protected in Egyptian society. Herodotus famously wrote that Egyptian men would protect cats from fire and that households would mourn the death of a cat and by shaving their eyebrows to signify their loss. A bronze votive like this example was perhaps sold at a temple in Bubastis to a worshipper and either given as an offering or kept in a personal shrine or altar. The quality of this votive suggests that it was a rich and potent offering.
  
  The priestess has been published in J. Eisenberg, "Art of the Ancient World: The Age of Cleopatra." (1988), no. 55 and J. Eisenberg, "Art of the Ancient World." (2018), vol. XXIX, p. 75, no. 152 and was on loan to Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University and Fitchburg Art Museum from 1990 to 2016.
  
  A similar, though slightly larger, bronze figure of Bastet hammered 52,100 British pounds (equivalent to $87,653.04 at the time) at Christie's London on September 23rd, 1998 (lot 143, live auction 8126).
  
  Provenance: private Jones collection, Boulder, Colorado, USA; Bastet: ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA, acquired via a private sale in 2022; ex-private Florida, USA collection acquired over thirty years ago / Priestess: ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA, acquired via private sale in 2022; ex-private Tecumseh, Michigan, USA collection, acquired in January 1989; ex-Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, New York, USA; ex-private French collection; on loan to Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University and Fitchburg Art Museum from 1990 to 2016
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #181628

  Condition

  Priestess is permanently adhered to stand. Bastet has chipping to tops of ears and both have expected surface wear with nicks and abrasions as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, both are intact and excellent with liberal remaining detail and rich patina throughout.
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