Figure of Venus at her bath, Rome, 1st century BC-1st century AD. Cast bronze, 19.3 x 6.9 cm. © Antiquarium, Ltd.

Nude, save her diadem, the beguiling Goddess of Love and Beauty arranges her hair with her left hand while gazing into her outstretched right hand, where she once held a mirror. Venus stands on her original bronze spool-shaped pedestal with remnants of inlaid silver and glass paste decoration.

Provenance: private collection, Switzerland, before 1986.

Portrait bust of an official or priest, Egypte, Early Late Period, Dynasty XXVI, 664-525 BC. Red jasper, 15 x 10 x 8.5 cm. © Antiquarium, Ltd.

The traces of an inscription on the back pillar suggest the statue was a temple dedication. The use of such a large piece of so rare and valuable a material indicates the man represented was of some importance.

Provenance: private collection of Freiherr von Bissing, Germany, by repute; thence, private Hoffmann collection, Germany, 1935-1994; thence, private collection of K. Fischer, Germany (with invoice dated April 1994).

Literature: A-C Thiem, ‘Am Hofe Des Pharao’, Busolengo, 2002, pp. 117, 123; Les Cahiers de Science & Vie, 2002, p. 84.

Exhibition: Palacio del Arte, Court of the Pharaoh, Palma, Spain, 2002.