Lot 527
LARGE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ATEF CROWN FEATHER
EGYPT, LATE PERIOD, 664 - 332 B.C.
Auction: Day Two
Description
cast bronze, in the form of an ostrich feather, recessed with a series of parallel perforations throughout, a tang to the side for attachment to the crown of the god, remnants of gold leaf, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
Footnote
Provenance: Seward Kennedy Collection, London, acquired 1960s
Note: This large feather would have once adorned a monumental bronze sculpture of the god Osiris, forming the right hand of the two feathers from his atef crown. Originally coated in gold leaf, its eternal, unchanging nature and solar glow intended to reflect the divine.
The feather now stands alone as a striking work of sculpture in its own right. Its composed, stylised form has a beautiful simplicity and is a fine example of the power of Egyptian art.
