An Egyptian Basalt Head of a King, probably Seti I, 19th Dynasty, reign of Seti I, 1290-1279 B.C.

New York art market

Sotheby’s, London, July 9th, 1984, no. 186, illus.

London art market, acquired at the above sale

Sotheby's, London, December 11th, 1989, no. 51, illus.

Theodore Halkedis (1932-2001) and Aristea S. Halkedis (1933-2014), ‘The Thalassic Collection’, New York, acquired at the above sale.

princely collection, acquired from the above as part of the Thalassic collection in 2002

private collection, by descent from the above

Rupert Wace Ancient Art, acquired from the above on May 6th, 2017

private collection, New York, acquired from the above on November 15th, 2017

acquired by the present owners from the above

“The Collector’s Eye: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art from the Thalassic Collection, Ltd.”, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, April 21st, 2001 –January 6th, 2002 (loan number: L2000.9.20)

TEFAF New York, October 28th, 2017– November 1st, 2017

Catharine Roehrig (op. cit.) suggests that the present head represents a king rather than a deity and can be dated to the reign of Seti I or to the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II. In her comprehensive survey of royal statuary of the 19th Dynasty, Hourig Sourouzian (op. cit.) identifies the head as Seti I based on the relatively small close-set eyes, the length of the cosmetic lines, the narrowness of the temples, and the fullness of the cheeks.

Published

Christie’s, New York, December 7th, 1995, no. 180, illus.

Catharine H. Roehrig, in: Peter Lacovara, Sue d'Auria, Betsy Teasly-Trope, eds., The Collector’s Eye: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art from the Thalassic Collection, Ltd., exh. cat., Atlanta, 2001, pp. 35-36, no. 17, illus.

Jaromir Malek, Diana Magee, and Elizabeth Miles, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings. Volume VIII: Objects of Provenance Not Known: Statues, Royal statues. Early Dynastic to end of Dyn. XVII, Including Sphinxes, Oxford, 2007, p. 122, 800-732-806 (formerly 800-798-870).

Hourig Sourouzian, Catalogue de la statuaire royale de la XIXe dynastie, Cairo, 2019, no. A-12, p. 812