Egyptian Painted Wood Sarcophagus Panel of Nut

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographic Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 24, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-03-24 10:00:00 2022-03-24 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-9057
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• Lot Description
  Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A beautiful wooden sarcophagus panel of relative rectangular form from 2 conjoined planks featuring the left-facing figure of Nut, the primordial goddess of the sky. Presenting with simplified form and painted in white, black, and red pigments atop white plaster, Nut stands with her lengthy arms draped down either side of her stripped and spotted dress which is perhaps indicative of a beaded sheath dress. The enigmatic goddess bears an expressive portrait visage consisting of an almond-shaped eye with an elongated exterior canthus, a bulbous nose above pursed lips as if whistling, a single cupped ear, and a red diadem coursing around her jet-black coiffure, all surmounted by a red sun disc. The sun disc resides within an arched framework of black and blue lines, perhaps representing the cosmos within which Nut reigns supreme. A series of 13 dowel holes around the periphery show how this panel was attached to a larger sarcophagus, and 4 of the original dowels remain. Size (panel): 16" W x 62" H (40.6 cm x 157.5 cm); (display case): 3.3" L x 20.2" W x 66.4" H (8.4 cm x 51.3 cm x 168.7 cm)
  
  Nut (also Nunut, Nuit) was the goddess and personification of the sky and the celestial realm. She is regarded as the barrier separating the ordered cosmos of the world from the forces of chaos. In some depictions, Nut was portrayed as a woman arched on her toes and fingertips over the earth; her sacred body representing a star-filled sky. Nut's fingers and toes as such were believed to touch the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west.
  
  According to Egyptian mythology, Nut is a daughter of Shu ("he who rises up" or the personification of air) and Tefnut (goddess of moisture, dew, and rain); her husband and brother is Geb (god of the earth, father of snakes, whose laughter could bring about earthquakes and fertile crops), and she has four children: Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. Nut was also granddaughter of Ra or Atum, the creator god. The Coffin Texts describe Nut as "she of the braided hair who bore the gods." In one fascinating myth, Nut gives birth to the Sun-god each day, and he passes over her body during the day only to be swallowed at night and reborn the next morning.
  
  According to author Manfred Lurker, "She was the mistress of heavenly bodies which were all her children and of whom it was said 'they enter her mouth and emerge again from her womb'. Nut was therefore called 'the female pig who eats her piglets' and was variously represented as a suckling sow. She was also the mother of the sun-god Re, whom she swallowed in the evening and gave birth to again in the morning. Because she was connected to the symbolism of resurrection Nut played a part in funerary beliefs. The sarcophagus and the tomb chamber were decorated with stars or an image of the sky goddess, who often had vulture's wings or a small, round pot on her head. The coffin itself was the heavens, i.e. Nut from which the deceased awoke to new life." (Lurker, Manfred. "The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Dictionary." Thames & Hudson, London, 1986, p. 90).
  
  For images of Nut stretching across the heavens, please see Hamlyn, Paul. "Egyptian Mythology." Tudor Publishing Company, New York, 1965, pp. 52-53.
  
  Provenance: private Waterbury, Connecticut, USA collection, purchased January 24, 2017; ex-Artemis Gallery; ex-H.J. Berk, Chicago, Illinois, USA; ex-B.C. Holland collection, Chicago, Illinois, USA, from the late 1980s to early 1990s; ex-John Piser collection, Chicago, Illinois, USA, from the early 1990s to present.
  
  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.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #170871

  Condition

  Both planks have separated with visible fissures down the center. Chipping and losses to plaster layer along interior and peripheral areas, with light fading to pigment, one area of darkening near Nut's knees, losses to 9 of 13 dowels, and age-commensurate abrasions and desiccation as shown. Wonderful preservation to pigment in most areas. Wooden panel is attached to verso of display case via several modern metal screws. Case has some light abrasions around frame and several areas of writing on the verso.
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