An Egyptian basalt head of a queen or goddess

拍品描述

An Egyptian basalt head of a queen or goddess Hellenistic, Ptolemaic dynasty, circa 300 - 30 BC With her hair arranged in corkscrew curls with a band around the head, with drilled hole in the top of the head, her face characterised by heavy lidded almond shaped eyes, Height 7.1 cm Provenance: European private collection, late 19th to early 20th century, based on marble plinth base inscribed 'A Squadilli / Napoli' UK private collection, Worcestershire, acquired before 2000 Literature: This portrait head, sculpted from a hard black stone, is characterised by the centrally parted hair and falling corkscrew curls. These curls, known as 'Libyan curls' were newly introduced in the Ptolemaic period. The style was fashionable for the goddess Isis, but was also highly favoured by the Ptolemaic queens. For other similar representations of Isis or Ptolemaic queens, cf. S. Walker & P. Higgs, Cleopatra of Egypt, (London 2001), nos.160-8

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