Lot Essay
For a related example see pp. 148-150, pls. XLII-XLIV in Sternberg-El Hotabi, Untersuchungen zur Überlieferungsgeschichte der Horusstelen.
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THE PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF
MR. & MRS. LEO S. BING
AN EGYPTIAN STEATITE CIPPUS OR MAGICAL STELE
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 304-30 B.C.
Details
AN EGYPTIAN STEATITE CIPPUS OR MAGICAL STELE
Ptolemaic Period, 304-30 B.C.
Sculpted in high relief, with a mask of Bes at the top protecting the nude Horus child standing below, holding scorpions and serpents to the side, standing on a triad of superimposed crocodiles, inscribed in hieroglyphs in seven rows on the front, fifteen on the back, as well as on the top, bottom and both sides with spells for protection against noxious beasts and poisonous reptiles, also inscribed on the reverse with three registers of mythological vignettes framed at the top by a winged solar disk, the first with an image of Isis in a papyrus marsh flanked by protective deities, the second with composite winged beasts reclining on shrines, a goat to the far right, and the third with two groups of serpents on shrines, a standing genius holding a serpent to the right of each shrine
8¾ in. (22.2 cm.) high
Ptolemaic Period, 304-30 B.C.
Sculpted in high relief, with a mask of Bes at the top protecting the nude Horus child standing below, holding scorpions and serpents to the side, standing on a triad of superimposed crocodiles, inscribed in hieroglyphs in seven rows on the front, fifteen on the back, as well as on the top, bottom and both sides with spells for protection against noxious beasts and poisonous reptiles, also inscribed on the reverse with three registers of mythological vignettes framed at the top by a winged solar disk, the first with an image of Isis in a papyrus marsh flanked by protective deities, the second with composite winged beasts reclining on shrines, a goat to the far right, and the third with two groups of serpents on shrines, a standing genius holding a serpent to the right of each shrine
8¾ in. (22.2 cm.) high
Provenance
Collected by the owner in the 1920s-1940s.