AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED ALABASTER ‘IMSETY’ CANOPIC JAR HEAD, NEW KINGDOM

拍品描述

AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED ALABASTER ‘IMSETY’ CANOPIC JAR HEAD, NEW KINGDOM This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005: “No. 77, AC, Egypt. Canopic lid of Asmeth 18th-20th Dyn.” Gallery price: EUR 25,000 or approx. EUR 42,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing. Egypt, circa 1550-1070 BC. The lid carved in the form of the head of the Son of Horus, Imsety, the guardian of the liver, wearing a smooth wide wig over his round face with large turned-out ears, the almond-shaped eyes rimmed and with painted irises, the nose with flaring nostrils, and the mouth with fleshy lips. Important Note: For essential information on the Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger Dimensions: Width 17 cm, Height 15 cm Canopic jars contained internal organs removed from the body during the mummification process. The jars came in sets of four, one each for the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines. The present example depicts Imsety, guardian of the liver, wearing a wide wig leaving his ears exposed. Imsety was one of the Four Sons of Horus, divine guardians in Egyptian funerary belief. He was depicted with a human head and entrusted with the protection of the liver of the deceased. Unlike his brothers with animal forms, his human appearance stressed closeness to mankind. Imsety was under the protection of Isis, linking him to healing, motherhood, and the myth of Osiris’s resurrection. He was also connected to the south, forming part of the sons’ role as cosmic protectors of the four directions. In funerary texts, he is invoked to preserve vitality and rebirth, ensuring the liver remained unharmed for use in the afterlife. Through this role, Imsety embodied divine care, protection, and renewal within Egyptian religion. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related painted calcite canopic jar lid, dated New Kingdom, 1479-1425 BC, 12 cm high, in the Museo Egipcio de Turin, inventory number S. 5111/01. Compare a closely related jar head in the Louvre. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams London, 28 October 2009, lot 38 Price: GBP 9,000 or approx. EUR 17,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and subject. Note the size (12.6 cm).

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