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Romano Egyptian Terracotta Harpocrates Figure
Circa 1st Century BC-AD
Description: Crisply modeled lively depiction in terracotta of Harpocrates wearing the customary sidelock. He is adorned with headband and a stippled floral wreath tied with a ribbon and surmounted by two large lotus buds. He holds his forefinger to his mouth. A short-sleeved cloak replete with folds drapes over his arms and hangs in a v-shape in front. Details of the god's round chubby face are crisp with small tender eyes in relief, plump nose and full lips. In his left hand he carries the club of Herakles with five fingers wrapped around the base of the club. The back of the figure is cursorily modeled. Hollow formed of dense brick-red clay.
Height: 4.75 in. (11.5 cm)
Condition: Intact as shown. Mounted on a Plexiglas stand.
Provenance: Formerly in an East Coast private collection.
Reference: See Hellenistic and Roman Terracottas from Egypt (Rome 1995) by László Török, nos. 84 and 85 for examples of Harpocrates bearing the club of Herakles. Also see page 77 for information regarding this association of Harpocrates with Herakles.
Background: Harpocrates characteristic gesture of his forefinger to his lips lead the Greeks to mistakenly believe that he was the God of Silence and Secrecy. However, in truth, to the Egyptians he was the symbol of the winter sun and early vegetation.
Price: $ 750
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