A TURQUOISE FAIENCE AMULET OF RA-HORAKHTY, LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD
A TURQUOISE FAIENCE AMULET OF RA-HORAKHTY, LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD
Egypt, 664-30 BC. Finely modeled in low relief on a remarkably thin, flat-backed plaque, depicting the falcon-headed solar deity Ra-Horakhty standing in profile upon an integral oval base. The figure is rendered with a compact body, long tail feathers, and a folded wing articulated with finely incised lines, the head surmounted by a prominent solar disk. The entire surface is covered in a luminous turquoise-blue glaze, emphasizing the crisp silhouette and delicate details of the amulet.
Provenance: An old private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Condition: Fair condition, commensurate with age. Small chips, rubbing, and scattered encrustations. Old repairs to the tail, base, and neck with associated fills and touchups.
Weight: 37 g
Dimensions: Height 10.3 cm, depth 0.3 cm
Ra-Horakhty, “Ra-Horus of the Horizon,” was a major solar deity who united the sun god Ra with Horus in his celestial aspect. He embodied the sun's daily passage across the sky and, by extension, ideas of renewal, regeneration, kingship, and cosmic order. Frequently represented as a falcon or falcon-headed deity crowned by the solar disk, Ra-Horakhty was especially important in funerary religion, where his rising each morning offered a powerful model for the deceased's hoped-for rebirth. Amulets depicting the god were therefore protective as well as regenerative, invoking the life-giving force of the sun and the safeguarding power of Horus for their wearer or owner.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related glazed composition falcon, Ramesside Period, circa 1292-1069 BC, in the British Museum, London, registration number EA61835. Compare a related green-glazed faience figure of Kebhesenuf with falcon head, Third Intermediate-Late Period, 6.75 x 1.65 x 0.34 cm, in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, accession number 48.1632.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams, London, 7 December 2021, lot 16
Price: GBP 1,657.50 or approx. EUR 2,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian turquoise faience falcon head terminal, Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-735 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related turquoise faience, falcon imagery, and particularly the markedly flat-backed construction. Note the smaller size (3.7 cm).
A TURQUOISE FAIENCE AMULET OF RA-HORAKHTY, LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD
Egypt, 664-30 BC. Finely modeled in low relief on a remarkably thin, flat-backed plaque, depicting the falcon-headed solar deity Ra-Horakhty standing in profile upon an integral oval base. The figure is rendered with a compact body, long tail feathers, and a folded wing articulated with finely incised lines, the head surmounted by a prominent solar disk. The entire surface is covered in a luminous turquoise-blue glaze, emphasizing the crisp silhouette and delicate details of the amulet.
Provenance: An old private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Condition: Fair condition, commensurate with age. Small chips, rubbing, and scattered encrustations. Old repairs to the tail, base, and neck with associated fills and touchups.
Weight: 37 g
Dimensions: Height 10.3 cm, depth 0.3 cm
Ra-Horakhty, “Ra-Horus of the Horizon,” was a major solar deity who united the sun god Ra with Horus in his celestial aspect. He embodied the sun's daily passage across the sky and, by extension, ideas of renewal, regeneration, kingship, and cosmic order. Frequently represented as a falcon or falcon-headed deity crowned by the solar disk, Ra-Horakhty was especially important in funerary religion, where his rising each morning offered a powerful model for the deceased's hoped-for rebirth. Amulets depicting the god were therefore protective as well as regenerative, invoking the life-giving force of the sun and the safeguarding power of Horus for their wearer or owner.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related glazed composition falcon, Ramesside Period, circa 1292-1069 BC, in the British Museum, London, registration number EA61835. Compare a related green-glazed faience figure of Kebhesenuf with falcon head, Third Intermediate-Late Period, 6.75 x 1.65 x 0.34 cm, in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, accession number 48.1632.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams, London, 7 December 2021, lot 16
Price: GBP 1,657.50 or approx. EUR 2,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian turquoise faience falcon head terminal, Third Intermediate Period, circa 1069-735 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related turquoise faience, falcon imagery, and particularly the markedly flat-backed construction. Note the smaller size (3.7 cm).
