Lot 20A
Egypt, Romano-Egyptian period, ca. 30 BCE to 641 CE. A remarkable pottery jar of rare form with an ovoid body and the relief image of Harpocrates, the Greco-Roman god of silence, secrets, and confidentiality, depicted as a youth seated atop a boat or garland. The child god is shown holding one finger of his right hand pressed to his lips in a hushing pose, a typical stance for Harpocrates and an ancient Egyptian convention to indicate children in art. A row of petaloid motif adorns the bottom quarter of the bottle just below the narrow base, as a pair of flanged handles project from either side of the sloped shoulder. An additional lug handle for suspension is featured on the verso, beneath the flared spout. Traces of white in areas suggest that this vessel was once enveloped in stucco decoration. Size: 1.6" L x 2.5" W x 4.9" H (4.1 cm x 6.4 cm x 12.4 cm)
Son of Isis and Osiris, Harpokrates was the Egyptian child god Horus, who avenged his father's death through several battles with Seth, the legendary god of Chaos. He represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn and was depicted as a nude boy with his finger to his mouth, as realization of the hieroglyph for "child," as seen in this example. Misunderstanding this gesture, the later Greeks and Roman poets made Harpocrates the god of silence and secrecy.
References to Harpocrates appeared in classical literature, including Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 277 (Roman mythographer c. 2nd century CE) and of course Ovid's Metamorphoses as we see in the following passage, "She saw before her bed, or seemed to see as in a dream, great (Egyptian goddess) Isis with her train of holy deities. Upon her brow there stood the crescent moon-horns, garlanded with glittering heads of golden grain, and grace of royal dignity: and at her side . . . (Harpocrates) the god who holds his finger to his lips for silence's sake." (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.688 ff - trans. Melville - Roman epic ca. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE)
Exhibited in the Lily Place Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art, from 1925 to 1958, ref. no. 25.183; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.096.1998.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.096.1998; ex-Superior Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA, 1976; ex-L. Blumka collection, 1958; ex-Minneapolis Institute of Art, bequeathed by Ms. Lily Place, 1925, ref. no. 25.183; ex-Cairo Suq, Cairo, Egypt
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#182167
- Condition: Chipping to rim and some nicks and abrasions to surface as shown. Otherwise, intact with a very nice presentation and liberal remaining detail. Traces of stucco in recessed areas and old collection number inscribed on periphery of base.
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