30 - AN IMPORTANT AND PUBLISHED FRAGMENTARY STATUE OF NECHO, GOD’S FATHER AND PROPHET OF HATHOR, HOLDING A NAOS OF OSIRIS, SAIS, SAITE PERIOD, 26TH DYNASTY

AN IMPORTANT AND PUBLISHED FRAGMENTARY STATUE OF NECHO, GOD’S FATHER AND PROPHET OF HATHOR, HOLDING A NAOS OF OSIRIS, SAIS, SAITE PERIOD, 26TH DYNASTY Published: Olivier Perdu, “Compléments au dossier des prêtres renep et des autres prêtrises d'Imaou,” BIFAO 120, 2020, p. 280-282, doc. 47, fig. 8. Egypt, 664-525 BC. Finely carved as a kneeling priest presenting a naos containing a standing figure of Osiris. The god is shown mummiform, wearing the tall atef crown and holding the crook and flail crossed before the chest. The shrine rises directly from the rectangular base and is surmounted by a rounded roof, its facade framed by vertical columns of finely incised hieroglyphs. Further inscriptions extend over the dorsal support and around the base. The donor kneels immediately behind the shrine, his folded legs forming a compact composition in profile. Inscriptions: To the naos, ‘An offering which the king gives to Osiris who resides in Sais; everything that appears upon his altar for the ka of the kherep-hut priest, god’s father, servant of Horus of the Two Great Diadems, renep-priest and hepet-wedjat-priest, Necho, son of Iuefaa, son of the kherep-hut priest Padineith, whom Tjeskhoutperet conceived.’ To the dorsal support, ‘[An offering which the king gives to …] the invocation offering, every good, pure, and pleasing thing on which a god lives, for the ka of the guest, kherep-hut priest, god’s father, overseer of confidential affairs […], the one who presents Maat, and prophet of Hathor, Mistress of Mefky, Necho, son of Iuefaa, whom Heqeret conceived.’ Around the base, an appeal addressed to ‘all the wab-priests who come and go in the temple of the Mistress of Sais,’ asking them to perpetuate the memory of the owner before the ‘great god who presides over the House of the King of Lower Egypt,’ identified by Perdu as the Saitic Osiris. Provenance: The private collection of Louis-Benjamin Fleuriau de Bellevue (1761-1852), La Rochelle, France, brought back from one of his journeys, by repute, and thence by descent within the same family. Beaussant Lefèvre & Associés, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 15 November 2013, lot 19, mid-estimate of EUR 25,000 or approximately EUR 33,000 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Thereafter with Galerie Chenel, Paris, France. A private collection, Marseille, France, acquired from the above. A copy of a certificate from Galerie Chenel, confirming the provenance and dating above, accompanies this lot. Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, expected wear, weathering and erosion, scattered small nicks, encrustations. The hieroglyphic inscriptions remain remarkably extensive, well-preserved, and largely legible. Weight : 5.9 kg Dimensions : Height 20.7 cm Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 14 October 2014, lot 111 Price: USD 100,000 or approx. EUR 123,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: An Egyptian graywacke naophoros for the priest Tja-Khonsu-imu, Late Period, 26 th-30 th Dynasty, 664-343 BC Expert remark: Compare the closely related Late Period dating, dark hardstone medium, kneeling naophorous form, integral base and back pillar, extensive hieroglyphic inscriptions, and shrine held before the figure. Note the larger size (34.6 cm) and that the naos contains Hathor in the form of the heavenly cow, whereas the present example contains Osiris. Due to length restriction on Drouot this entry is shortened. For full description please visit www.zacke.at.