Lot 30
  • 30

An Egyptian Indurated Limestone Bust of a Man, late 25th/early 26th Dynasty, circa 670-650 B.C.

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • An Egyptian Indurated Limestone Bust of a Man
  • limestone
  • Height 7 11/16 in. 19.5 cm.
from a seated figure, of powerful build with pronounced collarbones, and wearing a wide wig falling to the top of the back pillar and leaving the ears uncovered, his face with full outlined lips, wide philtrum, broad nose, and large finely contoured almond-shaped eyes.

Provenance

Giovanni Dattari (d. 1923), Cairo (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Antiquités égyptiennes, grecques et romaines. Les collections de feu M. Jean Lambros d'Athènes et de M. Giovanni Dattari du Caire, Paris, June 17th-19th, 1912, no. 292, pl. XXIX (“Buste d’homme coiffé du klaft. C’est un portrait d’une grande vigueur.”)
French private collection (Maître Blache, Versailles, June 28th, 1968, no. 31bis)

Literature

Jaromir Malek et al., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs, and Paintings, vol. VIII: Objects of Provenance not known, Oxford, 1999, no. 801-763-620

Condition

Excellent and as shown, note chip on proper left forearm, and there is a small chip near the top of the proper left ear. The surface has a lot of very superficial ancient scratches and is slightly worn. There is a tiny modern cut at the bottom of his torso next to the back pillar, suggesting that someone may have taken a sample of the very hard stone at some point.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

For heads similar in date and character compare Le Crépuscule des Pharaons, Chefs d’oeuvre des dernières dynasties égyptiennes, Olivier Perdu, ed., Brussels, 2012, nos. 21 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 07.228.47) and 22 (Louvre E inv. no. 11068).

Works of Egyptian stone sculpture from the 1912 Dattari sale now in public collections include the “Dattari Statue,” a 30th-Dynasty black diorite figure of man in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, inv. no. 52.89 (lot no. 291, pls. XXVII-XXVIII; B.v. Bothmer, Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period, Brooklyn, 1960, no. 80), a Late Period grey-green schist bust of a man in the Walters Art Museum, inv. 22.398 (lot no. 293, pl. XXXII; Bothmer, op. cit., no. 18), and a 30th-Dynasty basalt head of a woman in the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, inv. no. 5888 (lot no. 306, pl. XXXII; A. Eggebrecht, ed., Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim. Die ägyptische Sammlung, 1993, p. 89, fig. 86). For an Old Kingdom relief from the Dattari Collection sold in these rooms, see Sotheby’s, New York, December 6th, 2012, no. 43.