NEW KINGDOM, LATE DYNASTY XVIII, CIRCA 1400-1390 B.C.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN GRANITE HEAD OF AN OFFICIAL
NEW KINGDOM, LATE DYNASTY XVIII, CIRCA 1400-1390 B.C.
The triangular face with the brows in relief, dipping at their outer corners, the button-hole almond-shaped eyes with the upper lids in relief, the inner canthi pronounced and angled down, the small, smiling mouth with full lips defined by a crisp vermillion line, the corners drilled and the philtrum indicated, the earlobes indented, wearing an elaborate double wig with striations radiating from the crown of the head, overlapping the top of the ears, with echeloned curls below
6¾ in. (17.1 cm.) high

Provenance

with Monbrison, Paris, 1960s.
Wertheimer Collection, Paris.
with The Merrin Gallery, New York, 1992 (Egypt at the Merrin Gallery, no. 11).
U.S. Private Collector; Christie's, New York, 5-6 December 2001, lot 212.
with Phoenix Ancient Art, Geneva and New York, 2007 (Catalogue No. 1, no. 29).
European Private Collection.

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Lot Essay

This superb portrait of a courtier dates from late in the reign of Thutmose IV or early Amenhotep III. The details dating it to this period are most importantly the eyebrows, of which the inner-most portions are straight. This compares with statues of Tjenuna (Siepel, Gott, Mensch, Pharao, no. 122, p. 316) and Merimose (Siepel, op. cit., no. 125, pp. 322-323). Merimose became Amenhotep III's viceroy of Nubia, but the above statue predates that promotion. Also consistent with this period are the hairstyle, the eye shape and the fact that only the upper lid is articulated. However, the shape of the mouth does not exactly fit the period because the mouth may have been slightly altered, likely in the Ramesside period, when the space between the lips was widened. The ears may also have been pierced at that time, also conforming to the Ramesside styles. The now-missing inscription would have also been updated at that time.
For recutting of Dynasty XVIII royal statuary in early Dynasty XIX, see no. 14, pp. 172-175 in Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt's Dazzling Sun.

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