Egypt, Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Period, ca. 664 to 30 BCE. An intriguing double-sided bust formed from cornflower blue faience speckled with white depicting Nekhbet, sister of the goddess Wadjet and the patron deity of Upper Egypt. Nekhbet's slender profile presents almond-shaped eyes with elongated outer canthi, a narrow nose above full lips, a feminine neckline with one shoulder protruding from the front, and her second arm draped beneath neatly arranged rows of hair. Atop her head is her signature vulture-shaped wig, and above is a partial headdress in the shape of a column capital. A biconical suspension hole drilled above the headdress enabled this piece to be worn as a pendant. Size: 0.75" W x 1.25" H (1.9 cm x 3.2 cm)

According to scholar Dorothea Arnold, "Like the falcon, the culture, Egypt's largest bird, lives high in the limestone cliffs and soars over the desert and alluvial land in search of food. Ancient artists depicted both the griffin vulture, Gyps fulvus, and, less often, the lappet-faced vulture, Aegypius tracheliotus, as incarnations of Mut, goddess and consort of Amun, and Nekhbet, goddess of the royal crown of Upper Egypt. The vulture's head and wings served as inspiration for the headdress of Egyptian queens, and images of the majestic bird adorned the ceilings of temples and palaces." (Arnold, Dorothea. "An Egyptian Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1995, Vol. LII, p. 46)

Provenance: private Corpus Christi, Texas, USA estate collection, acquired 1960s to 1970s

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#165332

Losses to top of headdress and majority of upper body as shown. Minor softening to some finer details, with light encrustations within some recessed areas.