Ptolemaic Period, Ca. 332-30 BC. An ancient Egyptian cartonnage mask of timeless beauty depicting the deceased who is shown wearing a tripartite wig, the lappets of which fall gently behind the ears to the level of the chest. These lappets painted a turquoise blue with shining gilded ends, are decorated with identical mirrored scenes of the god of the underworld Osiris. He is depicted wearing a white Crown and is seated upon a bennu or shrine the double-leaved doors of which are sealed closed with double bolts, one on top of the other. The shrines may portray the tomb of the deceased which is now eternally under the protection of Osiris. A reticulated pattern to the left and right and a horizontal frieze of flowers complete the bottom half of the mask's decoration. The top of the mask is decorated with a winged scarab in red and blue pushing a sun disc which is crafted in raised relief in the centre of the gilded hair band, which holds the wig in place. Dating to the Ptolemaic Period, this mummy mask displays the continuity of the existing pharaonic civilisation with new decorative motifs introduced by the ruling Greek/Macedonian culture. The lot is accompanied by the Art Loss Register Certificate, ALR Ref: S00218512. Item comes with a professional historical report from Ancient Report Specialists. Size: L:510mm / W:365mm ; 2.45Kg Provenance: Property of a London doctor, formerly in the collection of M.D., private collector Oxfordshire; previously in the collection of N.H., Ontario; owned by descent; previously in an old Canadian collection formed in the 1970s. Exhibited: Olympia Art & Antiques fair, London June 2022.

londres, United Kingdom