Lot 193: * An Egyptian limestone sculptor's model of a pharaoh bust

An Egyptian limestone sculptor's model of a pharaoh bust Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Portrayed wearing a striated nemes-headdress with central uraeus, the serene features with almond-shaped eyes and full lips, the torso carved without arms and with well-defined pectorals, 17.2cm high

Provenance:Alonzo Cinq-Mars (1881-1969) collection, acquired in the 1920s.Private collection, Canada. Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 12 December 2002, lot 209. Private collection.Many sculptor's models of royal heads and busts survive from the 30th Dynasty onwards, however this bust is more unusual as it is carved almost in the round, except for the flattened arm areas, and there are no indications of an incised grid at the back. Most of the royal busts end in a straight line just below the lappets of the wig, whereas this example includes the physiology of the chest. For a similar extended royal bust see the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, acc. no. JE47932, reproduced in N. Tomoum, The Sculptors' Models of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, Cairo, 2005, pl. 25. For a discussion of the unproven use of 'sculptor's models', either as votive objects or trial pieces, see E.R. Russmann (ed.), Eternal Egypt, The British Museum, 2001, pp.250-251.