THE ‘CHARLES GILLOT’ BRONZE HEAD OF WADJET AS A LIONESS, LATE PERIOD

Exhibited: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art), 2020-2023, inventory number MMoCA852.

Egypt, circa 6^th century BC. Superbly cast, the lion-headed goddess displays a gently protruding snout above a strong chin, large convex eyes set beneath contoured brows, and neatly incised whiskers. Her mane is rendered in scrolling locks flanking upright ears, while a rearing uraeus crowns her head, its sinuous tail extending along the back.

Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected casting irregularities, obvious losses, some rubbing, scattered nicks and scratches, signs of weathering and encrustations. The bronze with a naturally grown vibrant patina with distinct areas of malachite and cuprite encrustations.

French Export Licenses: Certificat d’exportation pour un bien culturel, nr. 099170, dated 5 February 2008, and nr. 243079, dated 19 September 2023, have been granted. Copies of these two documents accompany this lot. Artloss certificate #S00136487, dated 13 June 2018. A copy of this document accompanies this lot.

Provenance:
- The private collection of Charles Gillot, Paris, France, and thence by descent. Recorded as no. 95 on the inventory list of Gillot's collection, dated 11 April 1903.
- The Gillot family collection, France, until 2008.
- Christie's Paris, 4-5 March 2008, lot 127 (sold for EUR 29,050 or approx. EUR 45,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).
- A private collection in the United Kingdom, acquired from the above.
- David Aaron Ancient Arts, London, United Kingdom, by June 2018, acquired from the above.
- Christie's New York, 28 October 2019, lot 458, estimate of USD 40,000 or approx. EUR 43,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
- The private collection of Christian Levett, France, and from thereon permanently exhibited in the Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins, the Museum of Classical Art in Mougins, France.

Charles Gillot (1853-1903) was a Parisian inventor and collector. Charles's father, Firmin, invented the gillotage, a photoengraving technique that allowed for the simultaneous printing of text and images. Charles improved this technology throughout his life while he also amassed an important collection of ancient, Islamic, Japanese and medieval works of art. His work won awards at all the Great Exhibitions and earned him appointment as a Knight of the Order of the French Legion of Honor in 1886. The majority of Gillot's collection was dispersed at auction in 1904 by the Durand-Ruel gallery and a subsequent sale, 104 years later, conducted by Christie's Paris.

David Aaron is one of the oldest and most preeminent galleries in the world dealing in antiquities and Islamic art. The gallery is a fourth-generation family business that formally opened in 1910, and today is based at 25a Berkeley Square, London. Over the past century, David Aaron has played an instrumental role in helping major Museums find, acquire and research important antiquities including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Louvre Museum, Tokyo National Museum, among many others.

Christian Levett (b. 1970) is a British commodities trader-turned-collector whose passion for collecting began in childhood. After building early collections of medals, art, and natural history books, he turned to antiquities in the early 2000s, quickly establishing himself as one of the most active private collectors in the field. In 2011, he founded the Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (Mougins Museum of Classical Art) in southern France, where antiquities are exhibited in dialogue with works by modern and contemporary artists influenced by the classical tradition. Since retiring from commodities in 2016, Levett has devoted himself full-time to art and philanthropy, sponsoring academic scholarships and supporting archaeological excavations, including at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli.

A copy of a section of the posthumous inventory of the Charles Gillot Collection, dated 11 April 1903, listing the present lot as no. 95, and stating a value of FRF 100, accompanies this lot.

Weight: 1,575.1 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 11 cm (excl. stand), 18.3 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated red marble and metal stand. (2)

This figure combines attributes of two powerful goddesses of Lower Egypt. The lion aspect evokes Bastet, protectress of the Delta, while the rearing cobra once fronting the sun-disc (now partly lost) is associated with Wadjet, the tutelary deity of Lower Egypt. Like many deities, she embodied multiple aspects within a single divine form.

Wadjet, originally worshiped in the Nile Delta, was one of the ‘Two Ladies’ together with Nekhbet of Upper Egypt. Every pharaoh bore a ‘Two Ladies’ name in his titulary, underscoring their importance as protectors of the throne. Usually shown as a cobra or a woman with a cobra’s head, Wadjet was also represented as the uraeus on the pharaoh’s crown, signifying divine guardianship. At times she appears with a lioness head, emphasizing her martial and protective role and aligning her with other fierce warrior goddesses such as Sekhmet. This dual nature—as cobra and lioness—embodied both ferocity in defense of the king and nurturing protection of the land. For a closely related seated bronze figure of Wadjet with uraeus, see Louvre Museum, inv. no. E 3791.

Literature comparison:
See a closely related leaded bronze statue of lion-headed Wadjet inscribed for Minirdis, Late Period, Dynasty 26, 664–525 BC, H. 62.9 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 30.8.100. See also a closely related bronze figurine of the Goddess Wadjet, Egypt, 26th Dynasty, circa 664–525 BC, H. 13 in. (33 cm), in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number 50.37.14. Finally, see a closely related bronze figure, Late Period, c. 600–350 BC, in the British Museum, museum number EA 74111.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 6 December 2022, lot 8
Price: GBP 63,000 or approx. EUR 82,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian Bronze Head of a Cat, 22nd/26th Dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the related cast, modeling, date and size (12.4 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 5 October 2022, Lot 39, sold from the Collection of John W. Kluge
Price: USD 578,500 or approximately EUR 550,000 converted & adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian Bronze Wadjet, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty XXI-XXII, 1070-712 BC; full bronze figure, height 57.2 cm.
Expert remark: Compare the related full figure bronze Wadjet with the present lot’s bronze head — both near identical in head size, though the Christie's example is the complete figure, explaining its much higher price.