Description:
A large and heavy bronze square signet ring. The bezel is inscribed down the center with two lines of text, reading: "Padihor, the son of Padiwesir". Both names were rather common in the Late Period and afterwards. For the name Padihor (p3-di-Hr, "he whom Horus has given") see Ranke I, p. 124, no. 19. For the name Padiwesir (p3-di-wsir, "he whom Osiris has given") see ibidem, p. 123, no. 1.
To exhibit the ring, a wooden base was made long ago; the underside carries a very old label which is only partly readable: "Collection /// Nahman, Ped///hor, fils de Pedou-Osiris, /// Epoque /// 305 ///".
Bibliography:
Iman R. Abdulfattah, "A Forgotten Man. Maurice Nahman, an Antiquarian-Tastemaker" in Janice Kamrin a.o. (eds.), Guardian of Ancient Egypt. Studies in Honor of Zahi Hawass I (Prague, Charles University, Faculty of Arts, 2020), p. 105-123;
Fredrik Norland Hagen - Kim Ryholt, The Antiquities Trade in Egypt 1880-1930: The H.O. Lange Papers (Scientia Danica. Series H, Humanistica, 4 - volume 8)(Copenhagen, Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2016);
Hermann Ranke, Die ägyptischen Personennamen, Band I (Glückstadt, 1935).
Dating:
Late Period, 664 - 30 B.C.
Size:
Height of the bezel 2.5 cm; width 2.7 cm.
Provenance:
Collection of Alexandra Nahmanm daughter of Maurice Nahman; thereafter collection of Jean-Philippe Mariaud de Serres, Paris; thereafter French private collection Mr. M., Paris, acquired from the above; thereafter with Arteas Ltd., London and Paris. Comes with the original Mariaud de Serres file.
Maurice Nahman (1868-1948), who was a dealer of antiquities in Cairo, with a special license from the Egyptian Museum to sell antiquities. He was considered the greatest expert of his time; after his death his gallery remained open to the public for several years, after which the remaining collection was devided among his children, and was subsequently sold at auction (Droupt Paris, 1953).
Condition:
Part of the shank missing, as shown; the bezel with the inscription is fully intact, but shows some faint signs of wear from frequent use as a seal in ancient times.
Price:
€ 3,500
Stock number:
E1384