Matrix for a mold
Rectangular matrix for a mold, probably in terracotta, used to cast inlays in glass paste or faience. Depicted is the head of a pharaoh in profile to the right in raised relief. He has friendly facial features with full lips and an almond-shaped eye with pronounced upper lid. The contours of the top of the head and round edge at the base of the neck were crafted so that the finished face could be merged with inlays of various colours and shapes.The features of the face suggest a dating from the Thirtieth Dynasty to the early Ptolemaic Period. Recomposed from fragments with very small areas of modern infill.
Exhibited
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, periodically 1986-1991.
San Bernardino, University Art Gallery, California State University and elsewhere, Temple,
Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection, 8 January - 30 December 1992.
San Antonio Museum of Art, October 1992 - July 1993.
San Antonio Museum of Art, Mummies: The Egyptian Art of Death, 20 July 1993 - 1 October 1995 (loan extended through July 1996).
R. Gill, Eternal Egypt Catalogue “Dendera”, London, 1991, no. 14
G.D. Scott, III, Exhibition catalogue, Temple, Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection, San Bernardino, 1992, no. 18, pp. 32-33
Christie's, New York, 9 December 2005, no. 34
The Harer family trust collection.
Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate.