Lot 23
Egypt, Roman period, ca. 30 BCE to 323 CE. A terracotta relief votive depicting Harpocrates, the Greco-Roman god of silence, secrets, and confidentiality, depicted as a youth. Surmounted by a crown, the nude deity holds one finger of his right hand pressed to his lips in a hushing pose, a typical stance for Harpocrates and an ancient Egyptian convention to indicate children in art. Harpokrates was frequently represented in Hellenistic form, as seen here. Son of Isis and Osiris, Harpokrates was the Egyptian child god Horus, who avenged his father's death through several battles with Seth, the legendary god of Chaos. He represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn and was depicted as a nude boy with his finger to his mouth, as realization of the hieroglyph for "child," as seen in this example. Misunderstanding this gesture, the later Greeks and Roman poets made Harpocrates the god of silence and secrecy. Size: 1.3" W x 2.3" H (3.3 cm x 5.8 cm)
Exhibited in the Lily Place Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art, from 1924 to 1958, ref. no. 24.157; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.089.1998.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.089.1998; ex-Superior Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA, 1976; ex-L. Blumka collection, 1958; ex-Minneapolis Institute of Art, bequeathed by Ms. Lily Place, 1924, ref. no. 24.157; ex-Cairo Suq, Cairo, Egypt
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#182220
- Condition: Chip to verso of headdress. A few small, stable surface fissures as well as nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact with liberal remaining detail. Light earthen deposits in areas.
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