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Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
Schoske & Wildung, 1985, p. 74, no. 57.
Schoske & Wildung, 1993, p. 197, no. 126.
Grimm-Stadelmann, 2012, p. 38, no. R-124.
For a discussion on Egyptian glass heads and relating examples cf. Cooney, Vol. II, 1960, pp. 11-43.
According to Cooney, op. cit. 'the most typical product of Egyptian sculpture in glass was the human head, or face, made to be fitted into a composite or acrolithic statuette. These small and finely worked pieces form a group by themselves. They are not numerous and they are restricted to the New Kingdom, perhaps to Dynasties XVIII and XIX....With very few exceptions the surviving evidence indicates that the great bulk of these pieces were small scale, rarely exceeding about 10 inches in height and were produced only during the great period of extreme wealth and luxury resulting from the conquests of Dynasty XVIII'. The attempt at realistic wrinkles on the neck are also typical of the Amarna period, continuing into the 19th Dynasty. However, the absence of extended cosmetic eye lines on the above example suggests a narrower dating from Horemheb to Ramesses II at the latest.
The physiognomy of the above lot shows an idealised face, broad and short, and the evidence for the chin-strap, the size and quality of workmanship all indicate a Royal attribution. As usual with these composite statuettes, the scalp area was not part of the face, and this was fitted with a separate crown or headdress made in another material. It is notable that the above lot shows weathering on the sides of the neck, that would indicate that the headdress added to this piece would have been a Nemes.
Schoske & Wildung, 1985, p. 74, no. 57.
Schoske & Wildung, 1993, p. 197, no. 126.
Grimm-Stadelmann, 2012, p. 38, no. R-124.
For a discussion on Egyptian glass heads and relating examples cf. Cooney, Vol. II, 1960, pp. 11-43.
According to Cooney, op. cit. 'the most typical product of Egyptian sculpture in glass was the human head, or face, made to be fitted into a composite or acrolithic statuette. These small and finely worked pieces form a group by themselves. They are not numerous and they are restricted to the New Kingdom, perhaps to Dynasties XVIII and XIX....With very few exceptions the surviving evidence indicates that the great bulk of these pieces were small scale, rarely exceeding about 10 inches in height and were produced only during the great period of extreme wealth and luxury resulting from the conquests of Dynasty XVIII'. The attempt at realistic wrinkles on the neck are also typical of the Amarna period, continuing into the 19th Dynasty. However, the absence of extended cosmetic eye lines on the above example suggests a narrower dating from Horemheb to Ramesses II at the latest.
The physiognomy of the above lot shows an idealised face, broad and short, and the evidence for the chin-strap, the size and quality of workmanship all indicate a Royal attribution. As usual with these composite statuettes, the scalp area was not part of the face, and this was fitted with a separate crown or headdress made in another material. It is notable that the above lot shows weathering on the sides of the neck, that would indicate that the headdress added to this piece would have been a Nemes.