From Egypt during the Greco-Roman period, ca. 2nd–1st century BCE.
The almond eyes set beneath arched brows, a straight nose, full lips, and softly modeled cheeks framed by a peaked headdress or hairstyle exemplify the Hellenistic koine absorbed into Egyptian coroplastic workshops following Alexander's conquest, where Greek aesthetic conventions blended with native Egyptian religious imagery.
Such mold-made terracottas were produced in great numbers at sites like Alexandria, Memphis, and the Fayum, often as votive or funerary offerings depicting goddesses, attendants, or idealized female devotees of Isis, Aphrodite, and related syncretic deities. The reverse preserves the original break, with later collector's restoration material (visible ochre and verdigris-tinted fill) anchoring the fragment to its custom mount.
Dimensions: 2 in. (5.08cm) high (terracotta fragment); overall height 3-5/8 with mount.
Provenance: From the Estate of Frances Denier Ablondi, acquired 1962–1972. Accompanied by the original Certificate of Guarantee from Kamloops, Inc., 38 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001, with handwritten description: "A well molded piece of terra cotta found in Egypt dating to the Greco-Roman period (332 BC thru 395 AD)."
Legally acquired and offered in compliance with U.S. cultural property regulations.
Condition: Fragmentary, as expected; surface with heavy ancient calcareous deposits; old collector's stabilization material on the reverse; securely mounted on a custom black stone base with brass support pin. Stable and ready for display.
Greco-Roman Egyptian terracotta figural fragments with documented mid-20th-century New York provenance and original dealer paperwork — like this Kamloops, Inc. piece from the Ablondi estate — are increasingly sought after, as pre-1970 provenance is the gold standard for collectors of antiquities.
