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USA Domestic: 12/14 for Standard; 12/23 for Express; International: 12/7 for Standard; 12/19 for ExpressAncient Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th to 20th Dynasty, ca. 1550 to 1076 BCE. A mold-formed faience statuette depicting a charming baboon seated with bent legs atop an integral rectangular plinth. The simian figure has a rigid posture, dozens of incised striations indicative of hair, and holds its arms towards a barrel-shaped container which would have held either kohl makeup or pigment used for writing. The baboon's raised head features almond-shaped eyes beneath thin brows, a protruding snout with incised nostrils above the thin mouth, and a planar top, and the entire composition is colored with powdery blue pigment. Size: 3" L x 1.75" W x 2.8" H (7.6 cm x 4.4 cm x 7.1 cm)
According to Egyptologists Erik Hornung and Betsy M. Bryan, "As primeval animals, baboons and green monkeys were prominent parts of the Egyptian cosmogony. The earliest gods are sometimes depicted with baboon heads. The baboon became an aspect of the sun god, Re . . . And of the moon god, Thoth-Khonsu. Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian) was the god of writing and knowledge, who was depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). In his baboon form Thoth was closely associated with the baboon god, Hedj-wer (the great white one) of the Early Dynastic period. By the end of the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BCE) he was usually portrayed as an ibis-headed man, holding a scribal palette and pen or a notched palm leaf, performing some kind of act of recording or calculation." (Hornung, Erik and Betsy M. Bryan, eds. "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, p. 200)
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.
Provenance: ex-Dr. Sid Port collection, California, USA, acquired in the 1980s
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#147836
Condition
Repairs to one arm and one knee, with small chips along break lines. Losses to areas of arms and upper rim of barrel as shown. Abrasions and nicks to plinth, figure, and barrel, with softening to some finer details, and fading to original pigmentation. Nice earthen deposits throughout. One TL drill hole beneath base.