An Egyptian Greywacke Naophorous Bust of an Official, 2nd half of the 26th Dynasty, circa 600-525 B.C.

Property from an American Private Collection
An Egyptian Greywacke Naophorous Bust of an Official, 2nd half of the 26th Dynasty, circa 600-525 B.C.

administrator of the Royal Palace at Hermopolis Magna, wearing a pleated kilt, broad rounded wig, and a naos-shaped pectoral decorated in raised relief with a seated figure of Neith holding the was-scepter, his youthful idealizing face with outlined lips indented at the corners, and finely contoured eyes, a single column of inscription in sunk relief on the rectangular back pillar translating, "Guest of the gods who are in Khemenu (Hermopolis Magna), Sole friend, Administrator of the Palace, Administrator..."
Height 13 in.

Condition Report:
What remains of this statue, originally a full standing figure, is in generally very good condition, with the main exception of the proper right arm, which is mostly broken away, and the proper right eye, which is damaged as shown in the photo. There are very minor chips or nicks in other areas, such as the chin, nose, proper left ear, and back pillar. A diagonal crack in the stone exists where the proper upper right arm meets the broken-away area. The inscribed surface of the back pillar is quite worn. A very small patch of modern adhesive material (perhaps wax) remains on the back of the proper left shoulder, where a Komor label was once attached.

Provenance:
Mathias Komor, New York (1909-1984), inventory no. Q 649, recorded in the Corpus of Late Period Egyptian Sculpture as having been seen by Bernard Bothmer in 1957

Missouri Public Service Co., Raytown, Missouri, acquired from the above in 1959

the architect Theodore H. Seligson, Kansas City, acquired from the above in the mid 1980s (Sotheby’s, New York, December 8th, 2010, no. 66)

acquired by the present owner at the above sale