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THBEgyptian Ptolemaic Bronze Seated Harpokrates
Lot 7c
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$3,000 - $5,000
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| $10,000 | $1,000 |
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Sep 13, 2018
Set Reminder
2018-09-13 10:00:00
2018-09-13 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic - Fall Variety
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-asian-ethnographic---fall-variety-3432
Travel the world and back in time... Antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy and the Near East, Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian Icons, Fine Art, much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Travel the world and back in time... Antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy and the Near East, Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Russian Icons, Fine Art, much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (408)
- Lot Description
Egypt, Ptolemaic period, ca. 332 to 30 BCE. A solid cast-bronze figurine depicting the child god Harpokrates (from the Egyptian "Her-pa-khered," literally "Horus the Child") seated nude with bent legs and feet planted atop an integral rectangular plinth. His left arm hangs to his side, and he holds his right hand to his mouth as befits the god of silence. His youthful visage exhibits almond eyes, a perky nose, full lips drawn into a slight smile, and a curled sidelock of youth draped on one side. He wears a nemes wig cover with two frontal lappets and a frontal uraeus, and a hemhem (hemhemet or Atef) crown on top consisting of a trio of "mw" crowns topped with sun discs and flanked with ostrich feathers. Lustrous brown patina envelopes the figure with scattered areas of green and blue-green patina adding a touch of color. Custom wooden display stand included. Size: 1.5" W x 5.375" H (3.8 cm x 13.7 cm); 6" H (15.2 cm) on included custom stand.
Harpokrates (also Harpocrates) was, in many ways, one of the most popular deities in the Egyptian pantheon for centuries on end. The offspring of Osiris and Isis, Harpokrates was originally thought to be a protective deity, warding dangerous magic and creatures away from the wielder of his effigy. His depiction as a child was a common sight in ancient Egypt as infantile gods were favored to their adult characterizations from roughly the Third Intermediate Period on into Greco-Roman times. Created mostly as temple votives, child gods were thought to have a higher concentration of power and influence, thus making for a stronger prayer request when left as an offering.
References to Harpokrates appeared in classical literature, including Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 277 (Roman mythographer c. 2nd century CE) and of course Ovid's Metamorphoses as we see in the following passage, "She saw before her bed, or seemed to see as in a dream, great (Egyptian goddess) Isis with her train of holy deities. Upon her brow there stood the crescent moon-horns, garlanded with glittering heads of golden grain, and grace of royal dignity: and at her side . . . (Harpocrates) the god who holds his finger to his lips for silence's sake." (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.688 ff - trans. Melville - Roman epic ca. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE).
For a stylistically-similar example from the Ptolemaic period, please see The British Museum, museum number EA35417: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=129288&partId=1&images=true
Provenance: private Healy collection, Studio City, California, USA, acquired at Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA
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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#137565Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, small losses to plinth and one lateral tip of crown, fading to some finer details particularly on the face and headdresses, and light roughness across most surfaces. Nice earthen deposits and brown patina throughout, with scattered areas of green and blue-green patina as well. Old inventory label beneath stand.Condition
- Shipping Info
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