Αρχαία Αιγυπτιακή Ασβεστόλιθος Σημαντική ανακούφιση του Αρποκράτη Θεού. 19 εκ. Υ. Μακέτα Γλύπτη.

Important Relief of Harpocrates God. Sculptor's model.

- nice quality -

Ancient Egypt, Late Period - Ptolemaic Period, 664 - 30 BC

Limestone.

19 cm high, 13 cm wide and 2 cm thick.

PROVENANCE: Private collection, Dijon, France, acquired before 1979.

CONDITION: Very good. It presents restoration in the upper right corner and in the lower right corner, as can be seen in the photographs. The figure is complete. and the entire left side as well. See photos.

- The last photo it's a parallel of the figure, from Mammisi of Dendera, Egypt. -

Harpocrates holds the Ankh key and a small bird in his right hand, he is naked and has a winged “cape” (a relief with the same iconography can be seen - last photo - in the Mamissi of Dendera). The left hand presents the typical position of the god, symbol of childhood, with the index finger in the mouth, shaved head, braid on the alteral and the cobra, royal symbol, on the forehead.

In ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, Horus was the hawk- or falcon-headed sky god, the son of Osiris and Isis. A central deity in the Egyptian pantheon, Horus comprised many aspects. The worship of Horus originated in predynastic times and spread and consolidated throughout ancient Egypt. Horus was also often amalgamated with one or two other deities. In Roman times Horus and his mother, Isis, were worshiped together. Horus was the Latin name for the Egyptian Heru.

Harpocrates was worshiped as Horus the Child. Often he was depicted as an infant suckled by Isis. Sometimes he was represented by a naked adolescent boy with his hair in the characteristic sidelock, denoting youth. Haroeris (Harwer) was the name of Horus the Elder, or Horus the Great. Of predynastic origin, this aspect of Horus was considered the son of Re and Hathor, or, alternatively, of Khnum and Heqet. Harmakhis (Har-em-akhet) was hawk-headed and wore Egypt’s double crown. This aspect of Horus was associated with the battle to vanquish Seth, the god of death and evil. Harsiesis (Har-si-Ese) was associated with Horus as avenger of his father Osiris and was worshiped at the great temple of Idfu. It was at Idfu that the legendary battle between Horus and Seth was believed to have taken place; the myth may have originated as an actual conflict between royal factions during the 2nd dynasty. The Greeks equated Harsiesis with their god Apollo. He was depicted as a human with the head of a hawk, wearing a double crown, wielding a curved blade, and holding an ankh, the symbol of life. Harakhte (also called Herkhty or Harmachis), or Horus of the Horizon, was linked with the Great Sphinx at Giza. Harakhte was portrayed as human with the head of a hawk or falcon. This aspect of Horus was thought to be a manifestation of the sun god Re.

SCULPTOR'S MODELS:

These are rectangular plaques or rounded sculptures on a small scale, between thirty and eight centimetres in height, sculpted in white limestone and with one characteristic in common: an unfinished aspect. They are practice or studio pieces, intended to help improve the chiseling technique of the trainee sculptor. The rounded form Egyptian sculptures are mainly heads or busts of royalty although a small number have been found representing private citizens or deities, while others are simply profiles.

Apart from the heads, there are many models of feet, in most cases of the left foot. This is presumably because in Egyptian statues it is this foot and leg which lead as if in forward movement, and therefore the left is the most visible foot. Hands, arms, legs and to a lesser degree, torsos, have also been carved and, many of them, very realistically. In the same way there are animals and parts of animals, above all, the front part.

Among the reliefs used as sculptor’s models we find a greater variety of examples. Once more, royal figures are the dominant ones with heads, busts and almost complete figures. But the individual forms of hieroglyphs - animals and birds – are equally common. There can also be found a selection of private individuals, gods (most of which are profiles of goddesses with vulture heads) , sacred symbols and parts of bodies. In many cases in which only the head of an animal is depicted, the piece is intended to represent the deity with which the animal is associated. This is evident from the presence of human shoulders, or from the wig that covers the hair or from the extra set of horns over the head, as seen in the relief of the head of the ram god Khnum. This leads us to see divine representations in other animal reliefs where there are no human elements, only those of the animals. No Egyptian works were left in this incomplete state unless this was done deliberately.