Terracotta Bust of Isis-Aphrodite

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Ptolemaic period, around 300-30 B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 16.2 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 1434

Provenance: French private collection Madame D. for at least 45 years. Last in a court-ordered auction of the private collection of Madame D.

Condition: Unrestored. Fragment of exceptional quality.

Description: Fragment of a large terracotta statue of Isis-Aphrodite. The very graceful depiction of the syncretic deity with noble features, full lips and a straight nose. The hair cascades in four long corkscrew curls to her shoulder, shorter curls cover the ears. The face and neck with Venus wrinkle are framed by leaves and fruits. The bare left breast is still preserved. Isis-Aphrodite wears her typical, opulent headdress with a central rosette on an encircling diadem. Above a high rising feather crown with a sun disk. Isis-Aphrodite is a Ptolemaic-era syncretic deity of the great Isis associated with the fertility aspect of Aphrodite. She represents marriage and birth and, following the old pharaonic model, also for rebirth. Elaborate accessories, amongst them her enormous kalathos on her head (the crown of Egyptian-Greek-Roman deities), which is always abundantly decorated, underline her impact. Mounted.