Lot 19
19
AN EGYPTIAN LIMESTONE RELIEF WITH THE HEAD OF A RAM
PROPERTY FROM A NORTH AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
AN EGYPTIAN LIMESTONE RELIEF WITH THE HEAD OF A RAM

PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.

Details
AN EGYPTIAN LIMESTONE RELIEF WITH THE HEAD OF A RAM
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
8 ½ in. (22 cm.) long
Provenance
Christos G. Bastis (1904-1999), New York, acquired 1961 or prior.
The Christos G. Bastis Collection; Sotheby’s, New York, 9 December 1999, lot 29.
Literature
D. von Bothmer, Ancient Art from New York Private Collections, New York, 1961, p. 18, no. 83, pl. 22.
D. von Bothmer et. al., Antiquities from the Collection of Christos G. Bastis, New York, 1987, pp. 82-83, no. 31.
Exhibited
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ancient Art from New York Private Collections, 17 December 1959-28 February 1960.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Antiquities from the Christos G. Bastis Collection, 20 November 1987- 10 January 1988.

Lot Essay

According to B. Bothmer, "There can be no doubt that this fine plaque with a head of a ram was at one time placed in a sanctuary, near a shrine where the sacred image of this powerful animal was worshiped, as a token of the faithful person appealing to a deity for help, healing or other support" (Antiquities from the Collection of Christos G. Bastis, op. cit., p. 81). While the plaques function is certain, Bothmer goes on to say that the specific ram god depicted is less clear, as various Egyptian gods including Banebdjedet, Heryshef, Kherty, Khnum and Amun-Re, were iconographically related to rams. The worship of these gods was frequently isolated to specific religious sites and without the knowledge of original geography, it is impossible to determine which god this ram represents.

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