Lot 25 , An Egyptian quartzite bust of a man, late period (26th dynasty), possibly a priest, height 17cm

An Egyptian quartzite bust of a man, late period
(26th dynasty), possibly a priest, wearing a wig, height 17cm
Estimate £5,000-8,000

Provenance:
The vendor grew up with this Egyptian bust in her family home her entire life. Her father was in the RAF and was based in Cairo during the war, during which time he was befriended by a man who became a dear friend. He was a Sheikh whose name evades her memory unfortunately. As children, she would squeal with delight at her father's stories about how they would feast together, which would usually entail over a dozen courses.

When her father left his post in Cairo in 1943 or 1944 (I'm not sure of the exact date), his friend the Sheikh said to him, Julian, please take any piece of art you like from my house as a parting gift, and so my father chose this Egyptian head. It has always sat in the family home and the vendor has sourced one photograph on the day her sister married just over 40 yrs ago. The head is sitting on the bookshelf in the background, top left of the photograph.

Knowing her father would have wanted me to have it, the vendor's mother gifted her this piece back in 2013 and it was used as a background prop in a feature film she is currently producing/directing.



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