Egyptian Bronze Statuette of the God Nefertem

The figure, which is a solid bronze cast, shows remarkable artistic skills. It represents a young man standing in the strictly frontal position that is typical of Egyptian statues. The left leg is a bit forward, the left arm hangs along the body, while the right arm is bent and holds a harp, the end of which rests on the shoulder. Its handle and blade are richly adorned with fading incised decorations. The young man, whose divine status is emphasized by the false beard and the frontal uraeus, wears a tripartite wig and is dressed in a finely pleated kilt. The shapes of his body are elegant and well-proportioned with the long limbs and the thin torso; the face is ovoid in shape with idealized and precisely rendered features.

The eyes are inlaid with silver, while a copper fillet highlights the drawing of the eyebrows and of the beard. The petals of the lotus, which appear hollow on the outside, were probably completed with polychromatic inlays (enamel, semi-precious stone, etc.). A suspension ring is soldered to the back of the head, atop the skull. Due to its size, this statuette may be considered as an offering to a shrine which was suspended from a pillar or from another type of support, rather than worn as an amulet or as a necklace element.

The open crown of a large lotus flower is placed on his head, completed by a long ostrich feather (vertical, in the center of the flower) and flanked by two counterweights of menat necklaces. This vegetal decoration is the key element enabling us to identify the statuette as Nefertem, the Memphite deity, son of the creator god Ptah and of the lioness goddess Sekhmet, with whom he formed a divine triad, mostly from the New Kingdom onward. A god closely associated with the lotus flower which was widely used in Egyptian perfume industry, Nefertem was revered as the Lord of perfumes. He is also connected with the sun god Ra, since the lotus rises in the morning as does the sun. The relationship of Nefertem with the great goddess Hathor, in turn, is evidenced by the constant presence of the counterweights of the menat necklaces in his iconography.

Although mentioned from the Old Kingdom in written sources, Nefertem appears only much later in Egyptian iconography, from the Third Intermediate Period. That is to say towards the early 1st millennium B.C., when he is mostly used as a subject on amulets. Votive statuettes representing him are well documented, especially during the Late Period, but their number is largely smaller than that of the images depicting other deities such as Osiris, Isis, and Harpocrates.

Complete except for the feet which are restored (the right foot up to the calf, the left one up to the ankle); minor superficial wear; inlays faded in parts surface is partially covered with a bluish green patina (loincloth, back, arms); traces of corrosion more visible on the lower legs.

Ex- Captain E.G. Spencer-Churchill (1876-1964) collection, Northwick Park, Massachusetts, USA; acquired in Cairo in 1910; Christie’s, London, 21^th November 1965, lot 426; Ex- private collection; Bonham’s, London, 26^th April 2001, lot 175; Ex- W. Arnold Meijer private collection, the Netherlands.

Christie’s, London, 21^th November 1965, lot 426;

Bonham’s, London, 26^th April 2001, lot 175;

ANDREWS C.A.R., van DIJK J., eds., Objects for Eternity, Egyptian Antiquities from the W. Arnold Meijer Collection, Mainz am Rhein, 2006, no. 3.15, pp. 192-193, and 258.

Phoenix Ancient Art  2011 No 1., Geneva-New York, 2011, no. 25.

Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam: Objects for Eternity, 17 November 2006 – 25 March 2007.

Offrandes aux dieux d’Egypte, Martigny, 2008, pp. 143-146.

Reflets du divin, Antiquités pharaoniques et classiques d’une collection privée, Geneva, 2001, p. 40, no. 25.

DARESSY G., Statues de divinités, vol. 1, Catalogue Général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire 21, Cairo, 1906, pp. 28ff, pl. 7.