amulet(?);
figure
- Description
-
Solid-cast amuletic figure of the god Harpokrates, or other divine child, in copper alloy; god represented as naked male child, slightly bent, his arms by his sides; wearing the sidelock of youth to the right side of his head; may have been an amulet with broken suspension ring behind neck; very corroded.
- Production date
- 4thC BC - 2ndC BC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 5.70 centimetres
-
Thickness: 1.20 centimetres
-
Width: 1.70 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Bronze figures of Harpokrates were common during the Late and Ptolemaic periods in Egypt (Weiss 2012, 126-157, Typ 41-69, Pl. 11-19), chiefly in the Delta where his cult was particularly developed (Sandri 2006). Likewise, the child deity was very popular in Naukratis. He appears in a large number of small votives and amuletic figures, in a variety of materials and shapes (Masson forthcoming).
This figure of Harpokrates belongs to the type 42 in the typology of bronzes by K. Weiss (Weiss 2012, 128-130, 573-576, Pl. 11c-e, see esp. Nr. 1545 for this specimen), a type that appears on a number of sites in the Delta, such as Saqqara, Herakleion-Thonis, Sais and Athribis (see for instance: Davies, Smith 2005, 121; Roeder 1956, 119-121, §170b, k-h, Pl. 17d and 18d).
Davies, S., Smith, H.S. 2005, The Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara: the Falcon Complex and Catacomb (Egypt Exploration Society Memoirs 73), London.
Masson, A. forthcoming, ‘A reflexion on Egyptian metal offerings from Naukratis’, in Heracleion in context: The maritime economy of the Egyptian Late Period, Proceedings of the conference in the University of Oxford, 15-17 March 2013.
Roeder, G. 1956, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6, Berlin.
Sandri, S. 2006, Har-pa-chered (Harpokrates). Die Genese eines ägyptischen Götterkindes, Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 151.
Weiss, K. 2012, Ägyptische Tier- und Götterbronzen aus Unterägypten: Untersuchungen zu Typus, Ikonographie und Funktion sowie der Bedeutung innerhalb der Kulturkontakte zu Griechenland, Ägypten und Altes Testament 81.
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Very corroded
- Acquisition date
- 1886
- Department
- External
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: 9,9,86,105.a (Accession Number)
