DIGNITAIRE AVEC LES CARTOUCHES DU PHARAON AMENHOTEP... Lot 22

DIGNITAIRE AVEC LES CARTOUCHES DU PHARAON AMENHOTEP III Dignitaire, vêtu d'un pagne, marchant sur un socle quadrangulaire gravé des cartouches d'Amenhotep III Egypte, Nouvel Empire Matériau Bois H 27,9 cm STATUE INSCRIBED WITH THE CARTOUCHES OF PHARAOH AMENHOTEP III Origin: Egypt Circa: New Kingdom Medium: Wood Dimensions: 11'' high The image is that of a corpulent, aged individual striding forward with his left leg advanced. That corpulence is conveyed by the modeling of the upper torso with its subtly protruding pectoral muscles rising to each side of the sternal notch which terminates in a narrow, tear-drop shaped, depressed navel. The corpulence is extended to his face which exhibits fleshy, full-cheeks and a mouth with full lips, the corners of which are drilled. His large, circular eyes still retain traces of their original black paint. He is shown wearing an undecorated, belt-less, wraparound kilt with its central flap beneath the fold-over. Both of his arms are held parallel to the sides of his body; his left hand with its open palm is pressed against his thigh. His right hand clasps an ankh, or sign of life. His hair is styled in a series of distinctive waves which run parallel to one another and lay flat on the top of his head. This treatment of the hair is stylistically similar to that found on a wooden statuette, inscribed for the young lady Nebetya, which was formerly in the collection of Martine, Comtesse de Béhague. Such a coiffure may also quite possibly be a variant in sculpture in the round of the so-called Nubian wig which was repeatedly depicted in two-dimensional representations of the period. The rectangular base on which the figure stands, and which appears to be original to the statuette, is inscribed with two columns of hieroglyphs. These contain the nomen and prenomen of the pharaoh Amenhotep III introduced by their respective epithets. These can be translated into English as, "The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Neb-maat-re, the Son of the