Museum-Exhibited Egyptian Bronze Figure Goddess Mut

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Exceptional Ancient, Ethnographic, & Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 9, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-03-09 10:00:00 2023-03-09 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Ancient, Ethnographic, & Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-ancient-ethnographic-fine-art-12354
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• Lot Description
  **First Time At Auction**
  
  Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate to Late Dynastic Period, 25th to 26th Dynasty, ca. 744 to 525 BCE. An exceptionally well-preserved figure of the goddess Mut, cast from leaded-bronze, presenting striding with her left foot barely extended beneath a bent left arm which held a scepter at one time. Her elegant femininity is accentuated by her form-fitting sheath dress, her navel daintily impressed in the center of her abdomen, while perky breasts protrude just beneath her shoulders. Her dignified countenance exhibits almond-shaped eyes with elongated exterior canthi and thin lips while a striated wig and a Pschent crown - complete with frontal uraeus cobra - rest atop her head. Lustrous chocolate brown patina has formed across this figure over the centuries and imbue it with an alluring sense of opulence. The figure stands atop a modern stone base for presentation. Size: 1.125" W x 5.125" H (2.9 cm x 13 cm); 6.3" H (16 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  According to author Manfred Lurker, "The figure of the Theban goddess Mut can only be traced back to the Middle Kingdom but she might well have been worshipped before. She was usually represented as a woman with a vulture skin on her head, often surmounted by the Upper Egyptian crown which was certainly an attribute deriving from the days of Theban Hegemony. She was regarded as the wife of Amun and their son was Khons. When Amun was exalted to the position of sun-god, Mut became the eye of Re and because the eye of the sun was manifested above all in leonine goddesses, Mut received the form of a lioness. In the Late New Kingdom Mut assumed the position of a primeval deity and was then seen as the 'mother of the sun in whom he rises'." (Lurker, Manfred. "The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Dictionary." Thames & Hudson, London, 1986, pp. 82-83)
  
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  Provenance: private Roseville, Michigan, USA collection; ex-Royal Athena; ex-C. and T.H. collection, Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA, acquired from Royal Athena in March 1986; On loan to Ohio State University; Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University; and Fitchburg Art Museum - between 1986 and 2016
  
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  #177378

  Condition

  Figure is ancient; stone base is modern. Figure's feet are adhered to the top of the stone base. Very light abrasions and softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and choice! Wonderful figural form and smooth patina throughout. Previous inventory label beneath modern stone base.
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