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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 9305
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 Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:58 pm Post subject: An Amarna Princess on ebay! |
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Wow, that's something I never expected to see! 
A head of an Amarna Princess from the Mansoor collection has apparently been put up for auction
It is one of those statue-heads of a princess showing her with thr really long skull. It's described as "a delicately carved pink limestone head".
A piece of the press release:
| Quote: | Amazing Ancient Egyptian Princess Head from 14 th Century B.C. to be Listed on eBay
Head is that of King Tut’s Sister – First Time on the Market in more than 50 Years
LOS ANGELES, Calif. June 23 rd , 2005— A rare Mansoor portrait sculpture of an 18th dynasty Amarna Princess [ca 1363-1364 B.C.] goes live on eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, June 23 rd at 10 AM P.S.T.
Previews of the piece are now viewable at www.ebay.com/princess . The beautiful, delicately carved pink limestone head was last sold more than 50 years ago by the legendary M.A.Mansoor, to a private collector, who owned it till his death several years ago. The only other known pieces are on display in museums or held in private collections.
The exquisitely carved princess is descended from the most famous royal family known in ancient Egypt . Her father was history’s first monotheist, Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh,- while her mother was Queen Nefertiti, the world renowned beauty.
This Princess was a sister to the most remarkable pharaoh of all time, Tutankhamun (King Tut), and possibly, the one he married, Ankh-es-en-paten.
This princess head is in nearly perfect condition, the facial features and entire head are unblemished, the neck with a break, but repaired. The head is a complete sculpture unto itself, it was made in antiquity as a finished piece in the manner of a stopper to be inserted into the body of a statue.
Mr.M.A.Mansoor, admired and respected for his indisputable reputation and professional integrity, sold ten pink limestone sculptures from his Amarna Art collection to King Farouk of Egypt prior to World War II.
Mansoor was a fixture among the elite social circles at the Shepards Hotel in Cairo . In the early part of the 20th century, the ''Golden Age'' of Egyptology, his friends and clients included King Faud and Queen Nazli of Egypt , King Alphonse the 13th of Spain , King Carol of Romania , King Ferdinand of Bulgaria , and King Prajadhipok of Siam . English archaeologist Howard Carter, the famed discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun, acquired many antiquities from Mansoor for Lord Carnarvon, who finance the Carter Expedition.
In recognition of his outstanding abilities and legendary finds, M.A.Mansoor was appointed ''Antiquities Dealer to The King'',-the only person to receive such an honor in Egypt . This appointment secured his reputation and facilitated sales overseas to museums and serious private collectors worldwide, including to the Chicago Oriental Institute.
Other pink limestone statues from the collection include: a unique full figure princess statue housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, a Nefertiti head at the Denver Art Museum, and several royal Mansoor Amarna art pieces on permanent display at the San Francisco State University Museum.
In an era where many antiquities are of dubious origins, there is significant archival documentation, and scientific reports, such as the Lucas Report, to support this pink limestone princess and the remarkable collection it was once part of.. Award winning documentary film maker Paul Madelenat is currently in production on the Mystery of the Mansoor Armana collection, and calls its significance “one of the most important archeological finds in modern history.” |
The starting bid is $195 thousand dollars. No bidders yet.....
See if this picture will work...
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Diorite
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Joined: 17 Mar 2005
Posts: 210
Location: Land of Make-Believe
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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I have just enough change sitting around to buy my favorite princess. 
Interesting. You can see what looks like fossils (the lighter areas with a different texture).
You can take the geologist out of the field but you can take the geology out of the geologist.
Diorite |
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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 9305
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Diorite wrote: | | I have just enough change sitting around to buy my favorite princess. |
all in an old sock stashed underneath the matress?
| Diorite wrote: | Interesting. You can see what looks like fossils (the lighter areas with a different texture).
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That's interesting. I never thought about the fact that some stones contain fossils. Is limestone the one most likely to contain fossils?
I can't remember ever seeing fossils in statues before. Then again it never ocurred to me to look for them...
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isisinacrisis
Pharaoh
Joined: 17 Jan 2004
Posts: 2228
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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Limestone is sedimentary rock, which is the rock where fossils occur. You'll never find them in basalt or granite though, since those are igneous.
Apparently there are fossils in the limestone of the pyramids-Diorite, is this true?
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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 9305
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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*sigh* Am an idiot. Had to look up the word igneous. .....
"Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks."
I didn't know basalt and granite are igneous. Thanks for the info Isis.
Those stone types were actually what I was thinking of when I wrote my question.
I think quite a few statues are made of granite. Beautiful material...
Wonder if they made all of Aye's statues out of limestone as he was already an old fossil himself when he came to the throne? (Just kidding...)
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Diorite
Scribe
Joined: 17 Mar 2005
Posts: 210
Location: Land of Make-Believe
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:11 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Apparently there are fossils in the limestone of the pyramids-Diorite, is this true? |
I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised. One of the few rocks I've ever actually held that was from Egypt was full of fossils. Limestones are a very common place for fossils because preservation is easy.
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kmt_sesh
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Joined: 13 Nov 2004
Posts: 7099
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:41 am Post subject: |
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Does anyone have a couple of hundred thousand dollars I can borrow?
| Quote: | | That's interesting. I never thought about the fact that some stones contain fossils. Is limestone the one most likely to contain fossils? |
In the stone tiles of the floor of the main hall at the Field Museum are areas of whitish discoloration. I always just took them for, well, areas of whitish discoloration. It wasn't until I was in docent training and attended a museum-wide highlights tour that I learned these are actually fossils within the stone tiles. I've since seen some of our teenage interns take a special magnifying glass in a squat wooden stand out onto the floor so visitors can see the fossils closer.
By the way, Diorite, I'd be happy to accept that $200,000 loan in pocket change.
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Osiris II
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Joined: 28 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| The pros and cons of the Mansoor collection being ancient Egyptian or fakes has raged for years. IMHO, most of the pieces just do not look--well, ancient Egyptian to me. Take a look at the photo of the princess. Her neck is too long, her head is very mis-shapen, her lips strange-shaped! I think she's quite ugly--and to me ancient Egyptian art is beautiful. The jury is almost evenly divided on accepting or rejecting the pieces, and probably will be for many more years! Most of the pieces can now be seen on-line, but I've lost the address! If you want to see them, do a Google search for Mansoor Collection, and I'm sure you'll find them. |
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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 9305
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| Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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We've had a discussion about the Mansoor collection a while ago:
http://forum.egyptiandreams.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=771
There are links to the websites there.
I agree with Osiris in that some of the pieces just look weird. The facial proportions don't look like the other Amarna period art I think.
Some pieces are a bit more believable than others.
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kmt_sesh
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Joined: 13 Nov 2004
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Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 12:36 am Post subject: |
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The mis-shapen skull is quite typical for many Amarna Period pieces, but I took another look at the skull and may have to agree with you folks. Osiris II is right that the lips are odd, and I agree with anneke that the overall facial proportions seem clumsy. On the other hand, this could have just been a trial piece that never made it beyond the craftsman's workshop for those very reasons. For that matter, it could have been the product of an apprentice. 
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Daniella
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Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 803
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:14 am Post subject: |
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So, you guys don't think that this piece is authentic? Wouldn't the fossils on it mean that it is ancient?
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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:20 am Post subject: |
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The fossils just mean that the stone this is made from was formed a very long time ago. The sculpture could still have been made 1300 years ago or 100 years ago.
I actually don't really know enough about authenticating finds like this. It seems a bit odd in shape and just slightly off. Then again not all the sculptors were master craftsmen I think.
I was actually just reading about some of the ushabtis found in Tut's tomb. There are some that are masterpieces and others about which it was said that if they hadn't been found and described during the excavation, then people might have mistaken them for fakes
So this could just be an authentic but not very well made piece?
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Daniella
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:29 am Post subject: |
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Oh, yeah that makes alot of sense. I never thought about that.
But, yeah, you're right, some artists might not have been as good as others, or just has different styles. Because even nowadays artists have different styles, actually if we were the same we would be critisized for copying, and stealing ideas.
But, I did think that this particular sculpture looked good, comparing it to the wall carvings and such, I thought they looked quite similar, but on the other hand it did look too flawless and new.
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anneke
Queen of Egypt
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 9305
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| Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 3:37 am Post subject: |
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I just checked on the site and it looks as though there was no bid ever made? Apparently the statue is located in Los Angeles.
I wonder if too many people had doubts. $200K is a bit much if you have some questions I think.
It's hard to say if it's authentic. Should they wish to donate it to me I will find a prominent place in my house for it though
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kmt_sesh
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Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 2:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | It's hard to say if it's authentic. Should they wish to donate it to me I will find a prominent place in my house for it though |
Oh, man! I already had a spot cleared for it on my coffee table. I'm still waiting for Diorite to send me the 200K in spare change, though.
I've seen examples of damaged pieces that are in fact legitimate relics that have been reworked by modern hands in an effort to make them "more valuable." But in attempting to fix up the artifact, the forger just ends up making his own work seem obvious.
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