Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus) Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus) Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus) Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus) Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus) Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)

Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Harpocrates (Child Horus)

17691

$895
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Egypt, probably Alexandria/Lower Egypt, Ptolemaic-to-Roman Period, circa 1st century B.C.–2nd century A.D.

A mold-made buff terracotta figure of the child god Harpocrates, the Hellenized form of the infant Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, depicted in his canonical gesture with one hand raised toward the mouth—the attitude that Greek and Roman viewers interpreted as the god of silence and secrets. The youthful face is full and rounded with almond eyes and softly modeled cheeks, framed by rows of dotted curls and surmounted by an elaborate headdress with side elements and a crowning attribute, the whole rising from a draped and modeled body above. 

Harpocrates was among the most popular deities of Greco-Roman Egypt, mass-produced as mold-made terracottas in the Naukratis and Alexandria workshops for votive and domestic use, where he formed part of the Alexandrian triad with Isis and Serapis; the hand-to-mouth gesture and youthful headdress with side-lock are his standard identifiers. Comparable Romano-Egyptian terracottas of Harpocrates/Horus are well represented in museum and market contexts, from the Metropolitan Museum's Imperial-period statuette to dealer and auction examples of the standing nude child-god holding his attributes. Height approximately 6 inches (15.2 cm); 7 inches (17.8 cm) on the mount.

Condition: broken through the center and cleanly rejoined; no restoration, fills, or repainting. All original terracotta, with surface wear and minor losses to the extremities consistent with age.

Provenance: Mr. Sid Hart, Cos Cob, Connecticut, acquired 1980s–1990s.

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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