An Egyptian greywacke fragmentary torso of a queen, probably Arsinoe II, Ptolemaic Period, circa 332 - 30 BC

Height: 23.2 cm

Provenance: Dr. Bruce Ralston (d. 1998) Collection, New York, acquired prior to September 1979, thence by descent

The fragment is of a female figure clad in a tightly fitting garment, revealing the curves of her body and the dip of her navel, her preserved right arm is held by her side, her left arm once held across her chest and holding a lily sceptre, now lost. She stands against a back pillar with a well-carved hieroglyphic inscription in a column giving her titles of: '[...] (sweet) of love, ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt [...]' and identifying her as Queen Arsinoe II.

£ 9,500.00