Lot 147
Ancient Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A mold-formed faience amulet of a baboon seated upon an integral stool. The petite simian presents with arms folded neatly atop bent legs, a thick mane covering the upper body, and a tall suspension loop protruding from the verso. This amulet bears the likeness of the baboon form of Thoth, the god of accounting, writing, mathematics, and other intellectual pursuits. Size: 0.68" L x 0.43" W x 0.81" H (1.7 cm x 1.1 cm x 2.1 cm); 1.62" H (4.1 cm) on included custom stand.
According to Egyptologists Erik Hornung and Betsy M. Bryan, "As primeval animals, baboons and green monkeys were prominent parts of the Egyptian cosmogony. The earliest gods are sometimes depicted with baboon heads. The baboon became an aspect of the sun god, Re . . . And of the moon god, Thoth-Khonsu. Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian) was the god of writing and knowledge, who was depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). In his baboon form Thoth was closely associated with the baboon god, Hedj-wer (the great white one) of the Early Dynastic period. By the end of the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BCE) he was usually portrayed as an ibis-headed man, holding a scribal palette and pen or a notched palm leaf, performing some kind of act of recording or calculation." (Hornung, Erik and Betsy M. Bryan, eds. "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, p. 200)
Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023.
According to Egyptologists Erik Hornung and Betsy M. Bryan, "As primeval animals, baboons and green monkeys were prominent parts of the Egyptian cosmogony. The earliest gods are sometimes depicted with baboon heads. The baboon became an aspect of the sun god, Re . . . And of the moon god, Thoth-Khonsu. Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian) was the god of writing and knowledge, who was depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). In his baboon form Thoth was closely associated with the baboon god, Hedj-wer (the great white one) of the Early Dynastic period. By the end of the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BCE) he was usually portrayed as an ibis-headed man, holding a scribal palette and pen or a notched palm leaf, performing some kind of act of recording or calculation." (Hornung, Erik and Betsy M. Bryan, eds. "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, p. 200)
Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA, purchased February 22, 1975; ex-Superior Galleries, Los Angeles, California, USA, purchased in early 1975; ex-Philip Mitry, with Anglo-American Bookstore, Cairo, 1940s, and imported to USA circa 1952; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023
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#182373
- Condition: Minor nicks and softening to finer details, with fading to glaze pigment in scattered areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice preservation to simian form. Amulet is adhered to display stand and cannot be removed.
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