AN EGYPTIAN PERIDOTITE TORSO OF AN OFFICIAL

LATE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXX, 380-343 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN PERIDOTITE TORSO OF AN OFFICIAL
Late Period, Dynasty XXX, 380-343 B.C.
Depicted in the classical pose of a kilted, striding male official, his fisted hands held alongside the body clenching emblematic bolts of cloth, the belt and triangular-topped back pillar uninscribed, the torso itself rendered in subtle tripartition
8 in. (25 cm) high

Provenance

Lucien and Hélèn Mellerio, France
Lucien Mellerio was a well-known French jeweler, famous for his collection of objects chosen for the rare materials from which they were fashioned. This object is listed as number 33 in his handwritten registry of the collection, a copy of which is available upon request.

Lot Essay

Peridotite is an igneous rock essentially composed of silicates, olivine and feldspar, and is usually found below levels of gabbro. It is rarely found in a large enough mass for use as sculpture. This lot is accompanied by a Mineralogical Certificate provided by Mr. Hervé Naudy, Paris, describing the rarity of the stone and designating the weight of this piece as 6,260 karats.

For a diorite figure of similar style in the Brooklyn Museum of Art see no. 24 in Bianchi, Cleopatra's Egypt. Age of the Ptolemies.

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