Egyptian Late Dynastic Bronze Oxyrhynchus Fish Amulet

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VARIETY AUCTION | Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 6, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-06-06 10:00:00 2019-06-06 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : VARIETY AUCTION | Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/variety-auction-ancient-ethnographic-4182
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• Lot Description
  Egypt, Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Period, ca. 664 to 30 BCE. A heavy cast-bronze figure of an oxyrhynchus fish wearing a sun disk crown flanked with bull horns and preceded by a frontal uraeus. A small suspension loop is situated behind the crown. The sides were incised with fine-line decorations, and the figure is cast onto a flat base to allow it to stand. Fish were sacred to the goddesses Hathor, Isis, and Mut, who gave them their distinctive headgear. The fish is a medjed, a species of elephant fish with a distinctive downturned snout. Interestingly, one can see this was laid directly on the mummy linens which, after 2000 years, left a lasting impression on the surface. Size: 4.75" L x 0.75" W x 2.75" H (12.1 cm x 1.9 cm x 7 cm); 3.2" H (8.1 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The ancient Egyptians worshipped this fish at the town of Medjed, which, after Alexander the Great's conquest, was renamed to be "Oxyrhynchus" in Greek. The fish played a role in one of the most important stories in Egyptian mythology, attesting to the rebirth and immortality of the god Osiris. Although there are many forms of the myth, the general outline of the story is this: Osiris and his queen Isis ruled Egypt. Osiris's brother, Set, had him murdered, but Isis found his remains. She raised him from the dead using the sacred mysteries of mummification and he impregnated her; then he died again, and she hid his body in the desert and gave birth to his son, Horus. Set, enraged, found the remains of Osiris and tore his body into pieces that he scattered throughout the land. Isis gathered all of these pieces up - except the penis, which had been eaten by the medjed. Many towns in Egypt claimed to be places where body parts of Osiris were found - towns could profit from pilgrims and worshippers - and Medjed was no exception. This figure, made of relatively expensive bronze, probably functioned as a ritual item held by a temple, or may have been a votive ornament purchased by a wealthy pilgrim or worshipper.
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Artemis Gallery; ex-private prominent art gallery, New York, New York, USA; ex-Richard Wagner collection, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1960s
  
  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.
  
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  #146935

  Condition

  Tips of horns and upper tail fin missing. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, minor nicks along edges of the base and body, and softening to some finer details. Nice earthen deposits as well as fine green and russet patina throughout, with scattered areas of azurite patina. Loss to one prong on stand and loosening to others.
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