Code: 2684
Description: A fragmentary fawn terracotta figure with pierced eyes, beak-like nose, tall neck and stump-like arms, wearing a simple crescentric headdress pierced along the outer margin, with a series of oblique grooves incised on the chest. The figure broken at the waist with the lower part lost. Some minor surface wear, otherwise condition good.
Size: 63 mm/2.5 ins. high
Culture: Syro-Hittite
Date: c. 2nd Millennium B.C.
Provenance: Ex Peter Negus Collection.
Background: Peter Negus (1920-2012) was a prolific collector who worked in the insurance industry for most of his life. His wife worked for Coutts Bank for many years and they shared an enormous passion for natural history, geology and archaeology, amassing a large and rather indiscriminate collection of fossils, shells and ancient artefacts. He was particularly interested in ancient corals publishing two scientific papers on the subject, which included descriptions of new species. He also had a particular interest in conservation and Egyptology, buying many Egyptian artefacts from dealers in the Drury Lane area of London. He was a member of the Geologists’ Association for over 50 years, acting as Treasurer from 1979 to 1988. Well-known for his geological and archaeological interests and as a colourful raconteur, he left much of his estate to the Egyptology Department of University College, London.
