Egypt, Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Periods, ca. 664 to 30 BCE. A fabulous hand-carved limestone head of an official utilized as a sculptor's model for carving figural effigies without the individual being present. The unfinished face is defined by slender almond-shaped eyes with thick lids and cosmetic trails extending from each corner, a flared triangular nose, slender cheeks, curved ears with drilled canal openings, and full lips drawn into a slight smile with drilled corners. The head wears a large bag wig hung low over a smooth brow with each side draped along the neck and shoulders. Despite the head's rough neck line, this was likely created as a standalone object rather than being from a larger statue. It is unknown who this model was meant to represent, though the refined quality and sophisticated presentation indicates it was likely a non-royal individual of great importance. Custom wooden display stand included. Size: 2.5" W x 2.375" H (6.4 cm x 6 cm); 4.25" H (10.8 cm) on included custom stand.

Carved heads like this piece may have served as a model for a larger sculpture, to teach apprentice sculptors how to replicate a master style, or to produce ushabti figures (small funerary statues for tombs). Though sculptors' models are typically difficult to date – with some being from the Amarna period of the 18th Dynasty when new forms of statuary came in – most known examples are from the Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic periods. The Egyptians were keen observers of fauna, with many different animals gracing their mythology, artwork, and hieroglyphics; however, anthropomorphic models were typically among the most challenging to carve accurately.

While sculptors' models appear to be from larger composite figures, their incomplete presentation could be an entirely separate item typology. Ancient Greek sculptural incompleteness was a generic form of presentation as the viewer could extrapolate who or what a sculpture was meant to represent. In contrast, the ancient Egyptians would view an incomplete votive work of art only as it was: part of a bird, a disembodied head, or in one instance the hind quarters of a lion. According to Eric Young of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "When we consider the Egyptian pieces as sculptors' models, however, their incompleteness is no longer disturbing, but entirely understandable. As is the case with unquestioned sculptors' models…the apprentice sculptor concentrated his energies on those portions of the figure that he found intriguing, or most difficult, and the master sculptor demonstrated the correct way to delineate a head…" ("Sculptors' Models or Votives? In Defense of a Scholarly Tradition." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, March 1964, p. 255).

A slightly-larger, stylistically-similar example which is missing half of its bag wig hammered for $3,500 at Christie's, New York Antiquities Auction (sale 2056, December 9, 2008, lot 36): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/ancient-art-antiquities/an-egyptian-limestone-head-of-an-official-5157864-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5157864&sid=d9f09f08-bcbd-4d01-9dca-c9a37fa1d271

Provenance: private Florida, USA collection, purchased March 30, 1994 from the Archaeological Center, Jerusalem, Israel

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#134027

Roughness and small chips to neckline, but not due to separation from a larger figure. Expected surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, minor fading to finer carved features, minor nicks and roughness to nose, ears, neck, and verso, and some fading and yellowing to limestone color. Light earthen deposits throughout. Drilled through bottom of neck for mounting.