About the lot N° 90
Title : A Limestone Relief Fragment with Offering Bearers, early 6th Dynasty, circa 2323-2291 B.C.
Size : 18 1/2 by 17 in. 50 by 43.2 cm. Provenance : most likely from the tomb of the high official Nyankhnesut at SaqqaraJacob Hirsch, Geneva and New York, 1920sacquired by the present owner's late husband from the estate of Jacob Hirsch in 1961Notes : PROPERTY FROM A CONNECTICUT PRIVATE COLLECTIONOn the back of the wood frame is a faded rectangular label (with red border) typewritten with the inventory number "TR 2417/6." Based on the style and provenance this relief most likely comes from the tomb of the high official Nyankhnesut, whose tomb 'holds the (...) dispersion record among ancient Egyptian tombs' (J. Málek, "The Provenance of Several Tomb-reliefs of the Old Kingdom," Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur, vol. 8, 1980, pp. 201-206). According to Jacobus van Dijk (Objects for Eternity, Mainz, 2006, p. 39) "close to sixty pieces are scattered among museums and private collections all over the world. Many of these pieces (...) passed through the hands of the dealer Dr Jacob Hirsch. The tomb appears to have been discovered around 1917 and was said to be already in ruins at that time (L.M. Berman, Catalogue of Egyptian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland and New York, 1999, p. 135). The exact location of the tomb within the necropolis remained unknown until January 2000, when it was rediscovered by the inspectors of the Saqqara office of the Supreme Council of Antiquities close to the north-west corner of the enclosure of Sekhemkhet (A. Leahy and I. Mathieson, "The Tomb of Nyankhnesut (Re)discovered," Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 87, 2001, pp. 33-42, pls. IV-V, and K. Mahmoud, "Preliminary Report on the Tomb of Nyankhnesut at Saqqara: 1st Season of Excavation," Göttinger Miszellen, vol. 186, 2002, pp. 75-88)."Sotheby's, auctioneer, New York, US
It's free to register now to view!
Sale title : Old Master Paintings, European Sculpture & Antiquities
Sale date : 04 Jun 2009
It's free to register now to view!
Sale Reference : Live Sale
