Wood figure of a man, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty
circa 1550 - 1307 BC
Wood
Height: 20.5 cm
Price: £35,000 plus any applicable taxes
The figure is in the form of young man standing with his arms held at his side. He is shown wearing a long kilt with a flaring overfold in front and a short wig with radiating striations. The eyes and the upper lids are well modelled, the proper left slightly higher than the right. There are some traces of pigment remaining, especially for the eyes; the feet are missing.
Provenance
Joseph Lindon Smith (1863 - 1950), New Hampshire, USA, acquired before 1950 Lindon Smith was an American painter, best known for his extraordinarily faithful and lively representations of antiquities, especially Egyptian tomb reliefs Christie’s, New York, 18 December 1996, lot 59
Literature
The types of funerary equipment that the ancient Egyptians put into their tombs had become standardised long before the New Kingdom. Based on the wealth and status of the deceased, provisions for burial included a container for the mummified remains, food offerings, protective figures and objects, servant statues (shabtis), furniture, tools, weapons, and clothing. In addition to being emblems of status and for symbolic use in the afterlife, some also were meant to aid in resurrection and to offer protection. Small wooden statuettes were often placed in tombs, in close proximity to the mummy and the statuette acted as an alternative resting place for the spirit of the deceased in the event of damage to the physical body.
For a similar example see Vandier, Manuel d’Archeologie egyptienne. III. Les Grandes Epoques. La Statuaire, pl. CXXXVIII, 4.