Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D. A limestone statuette of the goddess Isis seated on a throne, nursing her son Harpokrates on her lap, now largely missing; the lower part of the head still partially preserved, tripartite wig visible; around the neck an elaborate collar, decorated with triangular beads; dressed in a long finely-pleated robe and cloak; the throne set on a raised plinth. See similar images of Isis in Walker, S. & Higgs, P., Cleopatra of Egypt, from History to the Myth, London, 2001, items I.26, IV.10; see also various similar examples in Higgins, S., ‘Divine Mothers, The influence of Isis on the Virgin Mary in Egyptian Lactans-Iconography’ in Journal of the Canadian Society for Coptic Studies 3-4, January 2012, pp. 71-86, figs.2, 5, 7. 1.8 kg, 18.5 cm (7 1/4 in.) Private collection of Prof Joseph Laissus (1900-1969), a professor of metallography and president of the French Society of Jules Verne. Private collection of a medical professional. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. The raised right hand identifies the subject as the goddess Isis Lactans nursing Harpocrates-Horus. Often the Ptolemaic queens were represented as the goddess Isis, but the absence of a face makes any identification impossible. However, it was very likely a votive statuette. The subject was still represented in later times and it strongly influenced the early Christian iconography of Virgin Mary.

Fair condition.