Egyptian Walking Ibis Figure, Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C. A wood and copper-alloy figure of a sacred (African) ibis (threskiornis aethiopicus) modelled advancing with its left leg positioned in front of its right; surviving polychrome detailing to the body and tail, stylised eye and beak detailing; mounting lugs to base of the feet; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 53.185a, for a comparable figure; for a seated ibis figure with similar tail inlay see Settgast, J.,Von Troja bis Amarna, The Norbert Schimmel Collection, Mainz, 1978, no.274. 871 grams total, 22 cm wide including stand (8 5/8 in.). with Drouot, Paris, c.1990s. From an important Paris gallery, France. Ex private Parisian collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.114470-194044. The ibis represented Thoth, the god of wisdom, knowledge and writing. The general consensus is that the ibis is now extinct in Egypt, with the last confirmed sighting reported in 1891. The dark blue inlay to the tail mimics the dark tail feathers of the sacred ibis. [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]