**First Time At Auction**

Ancient Egypt, Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Period, ca. 712 to 30 BCE. A hand-carved sculptor's model of a youthful male portrait, perhaps of a king. The heart-shaped visage exhibits ovoid eyes, a delicate nose with delineated nostrils, full lips with slightly indented corners, flush cheek bones, and a petite chin, all beneath thin brows and a smooth forehead. The composition is covered in a layer of white gesso that was painted at one time, given the presence of orange and green pigment. Size: 2.75" L x 4.625" W x 4.625" H (7 cm x 11.7 cm x 11.7 cm); 8.55" H (21.7 cm) on included custom stand.

While sculptors' models appear to be from larger composite figures, their incomplete presentation could be an entirely separate item typology. Ancient Greek sculptural incompleteness was a generic form of presentation as the viewer could extrapolate who or what a sculpture was meant to represent. In contrast, the ancient Egyptians would view an incomplete votive work of art only as it was: part of a bird, a disembodied head, or in one instance the hind quarters of a lion. The smooth surface at the top of this foot indicates that it is a complete object by itself. According to Eric Young of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "When we consider the Egyptian pieces as sculptors' models, however, their incompleteness is no longer disturbing, but entirely understandable. As is the case with unquestioned sculptors' models...the apprentice sculptor concentrated his energies on those portions of the figure that he found intriguing, or most difficult, and the master sculptor demonstrated the correct way to delineate a head?" ("Sculptors' Models or Votives? In Defense of a Scholarly Tradition." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, March 1964, p. 255).

Published in Eisenberg, J. "Art of the Ancient World." Vol. XXI, 2010, p. 80, fig. 210

Provenance: ex-Royal Athena Galleries, New York City, New York, USA; ex-Pierre Berge, Paris, France, January 17, 2009, lot 165; ex-French collection, acquired from Galerie Serres, Paris, France, 1970

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#184944

Small loss to upper forehead corner, with nicks and abrasions in scattered areas, and fading to pigment, otherwise in excellent condition. Great preservation to facial features.