PTOLEMAIC-ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

TWO EGYPTIAN BLUE GLASS INTAGLIOS
PTOLEMAIC-ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.
One with bust of Isis-Demeter, with knotted hair at the back of head, wearing plumes, sun-disc and two sheaves of wheat; and another with bust of Osiris-Canopus with two branches, head in profile, wearing a draped garment, surmounted by atef-crown and youthful side-lock
1 9/16 in. (4 cm.) and 13/16 in. (2.1 cm.) high respectively (2)

Provenance

The Groppi Collection, Switzerland; acquired in the 1920s-1940s.

Exhibited

Antikensmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig und Museum August Kestner Hannover, Köstlichkeiten aus Kairo!, 2008, nos 2 & 3.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Exhibition catalogue, Köstlichkeiten aus Kairo!, Antikensmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig und Museum August Kestner Hannover, 2008, pp. 59-60, nos 2 & 3.

The intaglio with Osiris-Canopus presents an interesting physiognomy: no beard and a particularly large eye, specific to some of the Ptolemaic rulers when represented as a deity. The large eyes and the presence of the side-lock of Harpocrates here suggest a representation of Ptolemy VIII.

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