Items Similar to Ancient Egyptian Sandstone Relief of a Bearded Deity
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Ancient Egyptian Sandstone Relief of a Bearded Deity
$60,000
£45,767.26
€52,142.77
CA$84,330.54
A$92,002.39
CHF 48,714.71
MX$1,102,450.68
NOK 620,408.88
SEK 567,317.88
DKK 389,342.16
About the Item
This striking image, sculpted in sunken relief of a male bearded deity, likely represents Hapi, the Nile God. The features are prominent, with boldly carved lines, sharp contours, and deep relief. The God faces right, wearing a striated tripartite wig, and an elongated false beard. The eye. extended cosmetic lines and brow are all rendered with delicate precision, while faint traces of original pigment remain to areas of the face and shoulder. The border frames the back of the deity's head creating a pyramidal composition of both balance and grace.
Notes
The god Hapi was primarily identified by the Egyptians as the inundation of the Nile - its yearly flooding which brought fertility to the land through widespread watering and the new silt spread over the fields by the swollen river. While it is often stated that Hapi was purely this inundation rather than simply the Nile itself, there are some indications of overlap, so that it is sometimes possible to characterize the god as representing the divine power of the Nile in general. More usually, however, Hapi is clearly the Nile Flood and the inundation was called by the Egyptians 'the arrival of Hapi'. The Nile was both the primary source of life in ancient Egypt and, by virtue of its cyclic rhythm, a manifestation of cosmic order. So in this sense Hapi is thus called creator god and even 'father of the gods' due to his life-giving and creative ability. He was also appealed to as a caring father and a god who maintained balance in the cosmos.
Representations of Hapi usually show the god as a swollen-bellied man wearing an abbreviated belt or loincloth and with long hair and pendulous, female breasts. Often, the god was depicted with a clump of papyrus upon his head, and he is frequently shown carrying papyrus and lotus stems and bearing a tray laden with offerings. Most often he was shown with blue skin, though other colors are occasionally found as in the case of the present relief. All of these attributes represented the fertility Hapi supplied and as such were interchangeable with those of other so-called fecundity figures.
Provenance
Private collection, UK, acquired 1970s.
Antiquities Christie's London, September 30, 2014.
Private Collection, Los Angeles California.
- Dimensions:Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 17.75 in (45.09 cm)Depth: 4.25 in (10.8 cm)
- Style:Egyptian (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:New Kingdom, Ramesside Period, 19th - 20th Dynasty, 1307 BC to 1070 BC
- Condition:Repaired: Repaired from three fragments with infill and overpainting along repair lines. Wear consistent with age and use. Overall with weathered, slightly rough surface, with minor nicks and chips. Remains of white and yellow pigment. Two circular drilled holes on rear for mounting, with brass fittings and mounted on a dark wood base.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: MS.00121stDibs: LU10743247979472
About the Seller
New to 1stDibs
Joined in the past six months.
No Reviews Yet
Vetted Professional Seller
Every seller passes strict standards for authenticity and reliability
Established in 2022
1stDibs seller since 2025
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Los Angeles, CA
- Return Policy
More From This Seller
View AllAncient Egyptian Limestone Sculptor
s Model
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This superb sculptors model is carved in raised relief with the bust of a pharaoh in profile to the right. The noble face features a prominent chin and thick lips. A delicate eye-lin...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Antiquities
Materials
Limestone
Ancient Egyptian Grey Marble Sphinx
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A mythological composite creature that first appeared during the 4th Dynasty, the sphinx is one of the most iconic compositions in ancient Egyptian art. Featuring the body of a lion ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Antiquities
Materials
Marble
Ancient Egyptian Green Faience Shabti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
For Padiusir, this Shabti figure displays a serene countenance, with finely delineated facial features and elegant proportions. He stands mummiform with arms crossed, holding two ag...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Antiquities
Materials
Faience
Ancient Egyptian Wood Dummy Canopic Jar
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This beautifully rendered 'dummy' canopic jar is In the form of the human-headed Son of Horus, Imsety. It features an incised line indicating the division between the jar and the lid...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Antiquities
Materials
Wood
Ancient Egyptian Painted Cartonnage Mummy Mask
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Cartonnage masks such as this were used to protect and idealize the facial features of the deceased in burial. The oversized eyes outlined with extending cosmetic lines and conformin...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Antiquities
Materials
Linen, Wood
Ancient Greek Terracotta Female Protome
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mould-made, with white slip, this large terracotta female protome is as lively as she is enchanting. She wears a stephane and a himation with dark blue zigzags along the edge. The h...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Greek Classical Greek Antiquities
Materials
Terracotta
You May Also Like
Egyptian Stone Relief of Man and Wife
Located in London, GB
This painted limestone relief is an exquisite example of New Kingdom relief carving from the apogee of Egyptian artistic production. Carved in raised relief - a labour-intensive tech...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Busts
Materials
Limestone
Antique 20th Century Egyptian Stone Sculpture, Bas-Relief - 2Y530
Located in Bordeaux, FR
This antique Egyptian stone sculpture from the 20th century is an original work of art crafted with remarkable skill. Featuring a bas-relief design, it captures the timeless elegance...
Category
20th Century Antiquities
Materials
Stone
A Fine and Large Egyptian Limestone Relief Carved in Shallow Relief
Located in London, GB
A Fine and Large Egyptian Limestone Relief Carved in Shallow Relief
Traces of original polychrome
Old Kingdom / 5th Dynasty / 2454 - 2311 B.C
Size: 32cm high, 70cm wide, 5cm deep - 12½ ins high, 27½ ins wide, 2 ins deep
Provenance:
Ex Private Swiss collection, acquired mid 1960s and thence by descent
Ex Rupert Wace Limited London
Ex Private London collection
cf A...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Limestone
Grand Tour Statue of Pharaoh Hatshepsut After the Ancient Model
Located in Montreal, QC
Grand Tour statue of Pharaoh Hatshepsut after the ancient model.
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt and was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. The authentic ancient sculpture of Hatshepsut is located in Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Egypt. Cast painted plaster. Provenance: The Collection of Charles de Beistegui, Château de Groussay. Charles de Beistegui (1894-1970), an enigmatic interior decorator whose passport was Spanish and whose wealth came from his family’s Mexican silver mines. Beistegui to indulge himself in the homes he decorated, such as his Chateau de Groussay...
Category
Antique Early 1900s Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Plaster
Antique Cast Sculpture Egypt Goddess Isis
Located in Munich, DE
Decorative cast of a sculpture of the Egyptian goddess Isis.
Category
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Busts
Materials
Plaster
Upper Egyptian Sarcophagus Lid in Polychrome Wood, EU Passport
Documentation
Located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon
Monumental upper Sarcophagus lid in polychrome wood. Late period, Saïte dynasty 711- 332 BC.
Provenance: Private European Collection.
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood
