29 - AN EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-PRESERVED AND FINE LIMESTONE ‘SCULPTOR’S MODEL’ BUST OF A KING, EARLY PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 305–200 BC

AN EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-PRESERVED AND FINE LIMESTONE ‘SCULPTOR’S MODEL’ BUST OF A KING, EARLY PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 305–200 BC Egypt. Portrayed wearing a plain nemes-headdress with central uraeus, the serene features with almond-shaped eyes and full lips, below an elegant nose, the torso carved without arms and with well-defined pectorals. The left ear unfinished and with fine a grit patterns to the back and chest. Provenance: McAlpine Ancient Art Limited, London, United Kingdom, 27 March 1985. The collection of the Historian Paul A. Cohen, Boston, USA, acquired from the above. Two collection numbers, ‘N3365’ and ‘M1275’, inscribed to the back. A copy of the invoice from Bruce and Ingrid McAlpine, on 27 March 1985, addressed to Mr. Paul A. Cohen, invoice number CS 0256, confirming the provenances above, accompanies the lot. The price stated of the invoice is USD 6,000 which is equivalent to USD 18,700 today. Ingrid McAlpine was one of London’s most prominent antiquities’ dealers. Although Ingrid originally studied linguistics and political science, she was also passionate about art and archaeology which she studied in Paris. Her varied careers in the 1960s saw her working in Brussels for the Common Market and, renowned for her style, as an international buyer in fashion, later coming to London to work for a furniture dealership. It was in London in 1972 that she and Bruce McAlpine launched the eponymous antiquities gallery, which became known as Bruce and Ingrid McAlpine Ancient Art. From 1977, the business occupied fine premises in Brook Street opposite Claridge’s and, as one of the leading London Antiquities dealerships, moved to The Vale in Chelsea in the early 1990s. Paul A. Cohen (1934-2025) was a distinguished American historian and scholar of modern China, who served as Edith Stix Wasserman Professor of Asian Studies and History at Wellesley College and was an Associate of Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. A graduate of the University of Chicago and Harvard University, Cohen published extensively on modern Chinese history and historiography. His influential works include Discovering History in China and History in Three Keys, the latter awarded the John K. Fairbank Prize in East Asian History. Condition: Excellent condition, especially considering the relative softness of the limestone and the considerable age of well over two millennia. The remarkable preservation of the finely carved facial features is particularly noteworthy. The nose, right cheek, and lips with minuscule old fills and touchups. Expected minor wear, scattered small chips, tiny losses, surface scratches, and nicks. Weight: 1,772 g Dimensions: Height 17.6 cm Sculptors’ models of royal heads and busts are known predominantly from the 30th Dynasty onwards. The present bust represents a model piece in the truest sense: one ear and the uraeus remain unfinished, while it retains the distinctive incised grid on the backside, and the characteristic straight guideline along the lower edge of the wig lappets. These features offer a rare and revealing glimpse into the working methods and preparatory stages of the sculptor. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related but smaller limestone royal bust, dated Ptolemaic period, 400-200 BC, 12.3 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of art, object number 30.8.79. Compare a related but smaller limestone ‘sculptor’s model’ of a royal head, dated Ptolemaic period, 3 rd century BC, 10.5 cm tall, illustrated in Edna R. Russmann, Eternal Egypt, The British Museum, 2001, p. 250-25, no. 139. Auction result comparison: Type: Near-identical Auction: Bonhams London, 28 November 2018, lot 193 Price: GBP 50,000 or approx. EUR 79,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: An Egyptian limestone sculptor's model of a pharaoh bust Expert remark: Compare the identical subject and material, the near-identical manner of carving, and the similar size (17.2 cm).