AN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE BRONZE FIGURE OF NEITH AS A WARRIOR GODDESS, LATE PERIOD

Published: Charles Ede, Egyptian Antiquities, 2014, no. 11.

Egypt, circa 600 BC. The goddess strides forward with her left leg advanced on an integral rectangular base, fists clenched—one lowered, the other slightly raised—in a gesture of power. She wears the Deshret, the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, its tall reeds bound with ribbons at the back, and her face is cast with finely modeled features. An incised broad collar, armlets, and anklets adorn her, while a close-fitting garment, held by straps, clings from just below the breasts to the ankles, emphasizing the sculptural elegance of her form.

Artloss Register: Certificate #S00089008 from June 20^th, 2014. A copy of this document is accompanying this lot.

Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Expected casting irregularities, the attributes lost, minor rubbing, scattered nicks and scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations. Overall with a fine, naturally grown patina, showing malachite encrustation.
Provenance:
- With Phocian Jean Tano, Cairo, Egypt, Inventory no F132
- The private collection of Sgt. W. A. Pickersgill of the Green Howards Yorkshire Regiment, United Kingdom, acquired between 1902-1940, and thence by descent.
- Bonhams London, 23 October 2013, lot 33.
- With Charles Ede Ltd., London, United Kingdom, 2014.

The wood base with an old label, inscribed ‘[...] Tano, no F132, Cairo, Egypt’.

Phocian Jean Tano (1898–1972) was a Cypriot antiquities dealer based in Cairo, active during the mid-20th century. He is best known for his role in the dispersal of the Nag Hammadi library, a cache of 4th-century Coptic papyri discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945, which included early Christian and Gnostic texts of immense historical importance. Tano acquired portions of the find through local networks and subsequently sold them to collectors, museums, and scholars, playing a pivotal role in their entry into the international art market. His activities, like those of many dealers in Egypt at the time, illustrate the complex intersection of scholarship, collecting, and commerce surrounding major archaeological discoveries in the modern era.

Sgt. W. A. Pickersgill served with the Green Howards Yorkshire Regiment, a unit with long-standing ties to Egypt following its participation in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and subsequent campaigns in the region. Active between 1902 and 1940, Pickersgill assembled a private collection of antiquities, likely drawing on the vibrant Cairo market frequented by British servicemen and expatriates. His holdings were preserved in the family by descent.

Charles Ede Ltd., founded in 1971 by Charles Richard Montague Ede (1921–2002), is recognized as one of the world’s leading dealers in ancient art, specializing in works from Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire, as well as early European art before c. 1000 AD. After early ventures in publishing and the arts, Ede turned his attention to antiquities, establishing the firm that now enjoys an international reputation and a prominent presence at major art fairs worldwide.

Weight: 319.6 g (excl. stand), 374.2 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 18.2 cm (incl. tenon, excl. stand), 20.3 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated fitted wood stand. (2)

Neith was revered as both hunter and warrior, the mother of the crocodile god Sobek, and a divine ally in humanity’s struggles against its enemies. Although her cult was invoked from early times, her worship declined during the Middle and New Kingdoms. It was only with the rise of the 26th Dynasty and the establishment of Sais as the capital that Neith’s cult regained prominence. In this later period she was venerated as a genderless mother-father figure, and most surviving statuettes of the goddess date from this time. In the present bronze, Neith appears as warrior goddess and personification of Lower Egypt, striding forward with masculine vigor, once holding an ankh and a was-scepter, and wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 9 December 2015, lot 135
Price: USD 87,500 or approx. EUR 101,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian bronze Neith, Late Period, 26^th dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and similar subject, incised decoration, and pose. Note the slightly larger size (20.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 6 December 2016, lot 129
Price: GBP 75,000 or approx. EUR 132,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian bronze Neith, Late Period, 26^th dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and similar subject, incised decoration, and pose. Note the slightly larger size (21 cm).

Very recent auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie‘s New York, 23 October 2025, lot 14
Price: USD 69,850 or approx. EUR 60.000 converted
Description: An Egyptian Bronze Neith
Expert remark: Note that the piece is larger (26.6 cm)

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