Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

The god represented by this human face cannot be immediately identified, but the gold face and the use of Glass pate are both symbols of divinity, as was the long curved beard which this figure must have possessed. Likewise,  the exact shape of the headdress or crown cannot be determined, but the narrow neck suggests that the figure wore either a tripartite wig or a nemes. The body and headdress could have originally been made of bronze or wood.

The beautifully shaped face, with its delicate features and smiling mouth, is characteristic of the best sculpture of this period. In fact, the Third Intermediate Period in Egypt is known for excellent bronze castings, often highlighted by elaborate inlaying with contrasting metals and with semi-precious stones. Many small bronzes decorated in this manner have survived, but large examples are rare. This is one of the largest known inlaid bronze faces, imbued with the same haunting quality as the fine gold mummy portraits of the period.

Published in:
Egypte, Moments d’éternité, Geneva, 1997, pp. 203-204, n. 131.

Bibliography:
Egypte, Moments d’éternité, Geneva, 1997, pp. 203-205, n. 131-132.

Tanis. L’or des Pharaons, Paris, 1987, pp. 85-96 and 270-272, n. 10Adred,                                                        

C., F. Daumas, C. Desroches-Noblecourt and J. Leclant, L’Egypte du Crepuscle. Paris, 1980: 125, 127, 180, 188-190, nos 108, 159.                                   

Steindorff, G., Catalogue of the Egyptian Sculpture in the Walters Art Gallery. Baltimore, 1946: 116, 120, nos 456, 495.