Lot 53
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN VOTIVE HAND
EGYPT, LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
carved limestone, typically stylised form, depicting a hand resting on a platform with the palm facing downwards
Dimensions
18cm long
Provenance
Private collection, France, acquired 1980s
Accompanied by French passport
Footnote
The exact purpose of this piece remains a mystery, it has been suggested that it's a fragment taken from a naophotous statue, depicting the hand and a part of a shrine. However, the angle of the hand against the edges may suggest otherwise when compared to other naophotous examples.
Alternative theories suggest that this piece is a votive offering or a sculptor's 'trial piece'. The credibility of either claim in uncertain; however there are numerous examples of anatomical votives in that were being offered at the Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus and elsewhere in Greece during the same time period, which may suggest the practice could have been taking place elsewhere.
A model of a fist in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no.66.99.74) is intended to be complete but depicts its subject in a partial or unfinished way.
Another example of a hand lain flat in the same position is on display in the Cairo Museum.
For the positioning of the hand if taken from a naophrous stature see Lawrence M. Berman, with Kenneth J. Bohac, Patricia S. Griffin and Bruce Christman, 'The Cleveland Museum of Art; Catalogue of Egyptian Art' (Cleveland, 1999) pp. 422-423, no.316.