STATUE OF THOT-IBIS Egypt, Ptolemaic period, 332-30 B.C. Bronze L. 34 cm Provenance Former Béla Hein collection, Paris, France, collected before 1931 European private collection, acquired in Paris in 2007 Statuette in hollow cast iron representing a seated white ibis. Great attention has been paid to the precise rendering of the anatomical details of the bird. The incised decoration reproduces many anatomical details, such as the structure of the beak, eyes, feathers and legs. Very well preserved, final parts of the legs lost, some gaps in the bronze. The cult of Thoth, represented in the form of a baboon or an ibis, is attested as early as the Old Kingdom; in the Middle Kingdom it became widespread throughout Egypt. His main temple was located in Hermopolis Magna, in the 15th nome of Upper Egypt. There, he is demiurge and was not created by any other god. His wife is Nehemet-aouy. In the Late Period, he is considered the son of Ra and Neith. In the Hermopolitan cosmogony, he organized matter and created the universe, through the creative Word that fell from his beak. He thus becomes the god of language and intelligence, then the inventor of writing and god of scribes. He enacts the rules of human society and those of the pantheon thus becoming the "Bull of Maat". He is also master of calculation, time, and weights and measures (the unit of length, the cubit, about 52 cm, would be based on the length of an ibis step). By curing the eye of Ra, he became, in the Late Period, the patron saint of physicians. As the depositary of the Maat, he intervenes in the afterlife, introducing the deceased to Osiris and the forty-two judges. During the psychostasis, the result is noted by Thoth, then as author of the Book of Breathing, he gives the breath of life to the deceased. He also plays an important role in the myth of The Faraway A ptolemaic bronze large statuette of Thoth-Ibis. Hollowed cast iron statuette representing a seated white ibis. Great attention has been paid to the rendering of the bird anatomical details. The incised decoration reproduces many anatomical details, such as the structure of the beak, eyes, feathers and legs. Very good conservation, final parts of the lost legs, some gaps in the bronze. The cult of Thoth, represented in the form of a baboon or an ibis, is attested from the Old Kingdom and spreadingthroughout Egypt in the Middle Kingdom. Its main temple was located at Hermopolis Magna, in the 15th nome of Upper Egypt. There he is a demiurge and was not created by any other god. His wife is Nehemet-aouy. In the Late Period, he is considered to be the son of Re and Neith. In Hermopolitan cosmogony, he organized the matter and created the universe, through the creative Word fallen from his beak. He therefore becomes the god of language and intelligence, then the creator of writing and the god of scribes. He enacts the rules of human society and those of the pantheon thus becoming "Maat's Bull". He is also master of calculation, time, and weights and measures (the unit of length, the cubit, of about 52 cm, would be based on the length of an ibis step). By curing the eye of Ra, he became, in the Late Period, patron of physicians. As the custodian of the Ma'at, he intervenes in the hereafter, introducing the deceased to Osiris and the forty-two judges. During psychostasis, the result is noted by Thoth, then as author of the Book of Breaths, he gives the breath of life to the deceased. He also plays an important role in the myth of La Lointaine. Ca. 332-30 B.C.