Egypt, Third Intermediate to Late Dynastic Period, 22nd to 31st Dynasty, ca. 945 to 332 BCE. A stunning leaded-bronze statue of Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing, the moon, and generally all things intellectual. The deity stands in a striding pose with his left leg extended atop an integral rectangular plinth while wearing an incised, vertically-striated skirt around his waist. Rounded shoulders droop downward to bent arms and hands holding an alabastron-shaped offering vessel. Thoth's characteristic ibis head projects outward from beneath an incised tripartite headdress atop a curved tubular neck and presents small eyes beneath heavy brows and the upper section of a slender beak. Lustrous layers of green and brown patina cover the entirety of this rare bronze rendering of Thoth! Custom wooden display stand included. Size: 1.25" W x 4.375" H (3.2 cm x 11.1 cm); 6.25" H (15.9 cm) on included custom stand.

The ibis, an elegant, long-legged wading bird that lives along the shores of the Nile, was associated with the deity Thoth. He was the god of wisdom and writing, and in worship to him many thousands of ibises were ritually sacrificed, embalmed, and mummified before being buried in underground galleries. Thousands of these burials have been excavated at Sakkara, near Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Scholars posit that statuettes like this example served as votive offerings to specific deities or as funerary offerings to be placed inside of tombs along the with body of a recently-deceased individual.

A larger, stylistically-similar example with a sun disk hammered for $43,750 at Christie's, New York Antiquities auction (sale 2856, June 4, 2014, lot 13): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/ancient-art-antiquities/an-egyptian-bronze-thoth-late-period-25th-26th-5800525-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5800525&sid=d99c49bb-075d-422a-9766-bcd0180745bd

Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s

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#140783

Loss to front portion of beak. Slight lean to overall posture, minor nicks to base, legs, body, arms, and head, with minor abrasions, and softening to some finer details. Light earthen deposits and great green and brown patina throughout.