A TURQUOISE FAIENCE AMULET OF PATAIKOS, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD-LATE PERIOD

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A TURQUOISE FAIENCE AMULET OF PATAIKOS, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD-LATE PERIOD This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2012: “No. 594, OK 1997, Egyptian Ptah / Ra amulet w. scarab on head, Late P., 3.7 cm” Gallery price: EUR 490 or approx. EUR 700 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing. Egypt, circa 1070-525 BC. Carved to depict Pataikos, the dwarf-like protective deity standing on a flat base with legs slightly apart, wearing a broad collar around his neck and a scarab on his head, holding a knife in each hand. Important Note: For essential information on the Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger Dimensions: Height 3.6 cm Pataikos is the conventional modern name for a dwarf-form protective divinity—or group of closely related divinities—represented chiefly on ancient Egyptian amulets. The name is not securely attested in Egyptian texts: it comes from the Greek pataikoi, the word Herodotus used for dwarf-shaped protective figures placed on the prows of Phoenician ships. Herodotus compared these figures with a dwarf-form image of Ptah that he associated with Ptah’s temple at Memphis. Although Pataikos is sometimes interpreted as a diminutive meaning ‘little Ptah’, its precise etymology remains uncertain. Some Pataikos figures wear Ptah’s characteristic close-fitting skullcap, and certain Late Period representations are identified by inscriptions as Ptah or Ptah-Sokar. Pataikos can therefore be understood not simply as an independent god, but in some contexts as a dwarf-form manifestation of Ptah, concentrating the Memphite creator god’s generative and magically protective powers into a small, portable image. Often shown grasping snakes, trampling crocodiles, or bearing a regenerative scarab on his head, Pataikos protected both the living and the dead from venom, illness, hostile beings, and other forces of chaos, while also symbolizing regeneration and renewed life. Literature comparison: Compare a related larger faience Pataikos amulet depicting the dwarf with a scarab on his head and holding knives, dated Third Intermediate Period, 8 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2021.41.99. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams London, 8 December 2022, lot 230 Price: GBP 2,550 or approx. EUR 3,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and subject with similar scarab on the head, broad collar around the neck, and knives in his hands. Note the size (4.7 cm).

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