37 - WOOD AND IVORY DUCK-SHAPED COSMETIC BOX

WOOD AND IVORY DUCK-SHAPED COSMETIC BOX Egyptian art, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1539–1295 B.C. Duck-shaped cosmetic box; the removable lid is held in place by a tenon carved around its perimeter to accommodate small rectangular plates of bone and ivory from the amphibious hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) (II/B). Engraved in slight relief beneath the base is the ankh sign, a symbol of life. Head broken and reattached; missing inlays and cracks in the wood. Dimensions: 5.7 x 14.1 x 5.1 cm Provenance: Collection of Ernest Brummer (1891–1964), Paris and New York; acquired from Maurice Nahman (1868–1948), Cairo, in 1927, and cataloged under number P4182 Sotheby’s, The Ernest Brummer Collection of Egyptian & Near Eastern Antiquities and Works of Art, London, November 16–17, 1964: lot 105 (ill.) Resandro Collection, Munich Christie’s, London, July 3, 2018: lot 9 (ill.) David Aaron Ltd, London Christian Levett Collection, Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins, acquired in 2020 Exhibitions: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, 2020–August 2023 (Inv. No. MMoCA857) Bibliography: Sotheby’s, The Ernest Brummer Collection of Egyptian and Near Eastern Antiquities and Works of Art, London, November 16–17, 1964, lot 105 I. Grimm-Stadelmann (ed.), *Aesthetic Glimpses: Masterpieces of Ancient Egyptian Art—The Resandro Collection*, Munich, 2012, p. 50, fig. R-169 An Egyptian duck-shaped box inlaid with wood and ivory, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1539–1295 B.C.