AN INSCRIBED DIORITE BUST OF A ‘SOLE COMPANION’, SAITE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXVI

The title ‘Sole Companion’ (smr wꜥty) was one of the most prestigious ranks in the Egyptian court, designating an intimate of the king and a member of his closest circle. It signified direct access to the pharaoh and was often borne by high officials entrusted with absolute religious authority. In the Saite Period, such archaic titles were deliberately revived to emphasize continuity with Egypt’s Old Kingdom traditions.

Egypt, circa 664-525 BC. Finely carved, the face shows a stern expression, with wide eyes framed by raised outlines and sharply pointed cosmetic lines extending toward the temples, beneath slightly arched brows in relief. The thick lips curve into a tight, controlled smile, while the head is covered by a wig set low on the forehead and neatly tucked behind the ears.

Expert’s note:
Busts from the Saite Period are renowned for their deliberate revival of Old Kingdom sculptural ideals, with an emphasis on taut features, crisp contours, and a composed, timeless expression. The present sculpture exemplifies this archaism with exceptional skill: the wide eyes are framed by raised outlines—an effect far more demanding to carve than simple incision—while the sharply extended cosmetic lines reinforce authority and restraint. Executed in hard diorite, a material associated with elite status, such works are closely linked to the royal workshops at Memphis and Sais, where the highest-quality stone portraits of officials were produced under direct courtly patronage. This refined bust reflects both the technical mastery of Saite sculptors and the prestige of the official class who commissioned them.

Inscriptions: To the dorsal column, ‘an offering which the pharaoh bestows upon the god Osiris...’, ‘the [pharaoh's] sole companion.’

Notes about the inscriptions: It begins with the traditional formula “an offering which the pharaoh bestows upon Osiris,” invoking the god of the afterlife and confirming the bust’s funerary function. It further records the prestigious court title “sole companion,” an epithet denoting an intimate of the king and one of the highest ranks attainable by a non-royal. Such archaic titles were deliberately revived in the Saite Period, reflecting Dynasty XXVI’s conscious return to Old Kingdom models in titulary. The text thus situates the present bust within the circle of elite officials closely associated with the royal court, whose memory was anchored in fidelity to the pharaoh.

Condition: Good condition with old wear, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, extensive rubbing, scattered nicks and scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations.
Provenance: A private collection in Europe, from 1983-1999. Thereafter with Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch Ltd, who have confirmed that they sold the piece. Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above. A distinguished American private collection, acquired from the above on 22 April 2016. A copy of a certificate from Ariadne Galleries, confirming the dating and provenance above, accompanies this lot.

Ariadne Galleries, founded in 1972, has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading dealers in the field of ancient art. With a prominent gallery in New York’s upper East side for many years, in 2014 Ariadne opened its second gallery in London’s historic art district, Mayfair. With nearly fifty years in the industry, Ariadne boasts of several important private collectors and foundations among its clients, as well as some of the world’s most celebrated museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harvard University Art Museums, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch, founded in 1998, is a London- and New York-based independent dealership specializing in antiquities (Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman), as well as Indian, Islamic, and Southeast Asian art, especially miniature paintings and manuscripts. The principals—Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch—are former directors of the Antiquities and Indian & Islamic departments at Sotheby’s London. They act both for vendors and buyers, placing works in major institutions around the world: Ashmolean, Fitzwilliam, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum; abroad to the Getty, the Rietberg Museum, the Staatliche Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, among others. They also manage private collections, handle auctions, conduct valuations, and provide expertise in authenticity.

Weight: 1,118.8 g (excl. stand), 1,520.2 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 11 cm (excl. stand), 17.5 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated metal stand. (2)

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related head of the military commander Amasis, Late Period, Saite, dated to the Dynasty 26, 18 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 66.99.68. Compare a closely related black granite fragment of a funerary statue of a nobleman carrying an offering, dated to the 26th dynasty, 21.9 cm high, in the Chazen Museum of Art, accession number 1976.30.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 5 December 2012, lot 136
Price: USD 35,000 or approx. EUR 45,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian granite bust of an official, Late period, dynasty XXVI, 664-525 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related carving, similar expression and low wig. Note the identical size (11.1 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 6 July 2021, lot 107
Price: GBP 52,920 or approx. EUR 72,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian Polychrome Limestone Stela, 1st Intermediate Period/11th Dynasty (2180–1938 BC), probably from Naga ed-Deir; names the owner Inheret-Shema as “the Sole Companion”
Expert remark: Earlier (non-Saite) attestation showing the deep antiquity of the title; helpful to underscore that Saite usage was part of a conscious archaism.