Ancient Egyptian Bronze

God Harpocrates / Harpokrates / Horus child - very fine - gold inlays - Ancient Egypt, Late Period, 664 - 332 BC Solid Bronze with eyebrows with gold inlays 12,5 cm height, 13 cm height with stand. PROVENANCE: - Private collection, Mr. I, France, before 1980. CONDITION: Good condition, see photos. Harpocrates, the Hellenised form of the Egyptian child god Horus (Her-pa-khered), was a very popular deity during the Late Antique Egyptian (664-332 BC) and Greco-Roman periods. He represented the god Horus in his infancy, the son of Isis and Osiris, a symbol of renewal, innocence and latent power. He was often depicted as a naked child, with a finger in his mouth - a gesture that the Greeks mistakenly interpreted as a symbol of silence - although it originally indicated infancy in Egyptian art. During the Late Antique period, inlaid bronze figures in which Harpocrates is shown seated, often on a throne or decorative base, were common. These statuettes were finely crafted, with details in gold, copper or silver, highlighting features such as the eyes, the typical side-combing of Egyptian children, and divine attributes such as the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt or the uraeus (sacred cobra). These figures functioned as votive objects, protectors of the household or symbols of fertility and renewal. Cultural fusion with the Greco-Roman world reinforced his cult, and Harpocrates was adopted as a deity of silence, secrecy and occult knowledge. Bronze statuettes bear witness to his importance and the artistic refinement of the period.

Estimate:£1,770.69

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