PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 304-30 B.C.

Details

TWO EGYPTIAN WOOD URAEI
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 304-30 B.C.
Each upraised with the hood spread, the head facing forward and surmounted by a solar disk, a perforation behind the disk, a tenon below for insertion, both preserving traces of plaster, one preserving some gold leaf, one preserving some black pigment; together with an Egyptian limestone mother and child, New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX, 1307-1196 B.C., depicted seated, her legs not defined, wearing a voluminous wig, supporting the child on her lap with both hands, preserving traces of pigment including black for the wig and facial details, red for their broad collars and the child's feet
Each uraeus: 3¼ in. (8.2 cm.) high (3)

Provenance

Uraei: Samuel D. Warren; gifted to the MFA Boston in 1894.

Mother and child: Luigi Vassalli Collection (1812-1887).
Horace Mayer Collection; gifted to the MFA Boston in 1956.

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Lot Essay

These two uraeus ornaments would originally have been inserted into a wood shrine, forming a frieze across the top, as seen on the elaborate example from the tomb of Tutankhamun. For another of similar scale and style see no. 23 in Lacovara and Trope, The Realm of Osiris, Mummies, Coffins, and Ancient Egyptian Funerary Art in the Michael C. Carlos Museum.

(See illustration for the uraei).

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