4 HELLENISTIC MARBLE HEAD OF A PTOLEMAIC QUEEN, PROBABLY CLEOPATRA II, ca. 185–116 BC. H. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.) Ex French collection. She was a queen (and briefly sole ruler) of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I. She became regent for her son Ptolemy VII on her husband's death in 145 BC and married her other brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II "Physcon" the next year, whereupon Physcon slew his nephew/stepson and made himself king. In 142 BC he took her younger daughter, his niece, Cleopatra III, as wife without divorcing his sister and made his new wife joint ruler. 5 HELLENISTIC MARBLE MALE PORTRAIT HEAD OF PTOLEMY VIII, 182-116 BC, with strong features, the large eyes with prominent upper and lower lids, the broad nose with recessed nostrils, the mouth with jutting lower lip set above a dimpled chin. Ptolemaic Period, 2nd Century BC Ex American collection acquired in the 1950s-60s. Attributed by Rudolf Kanel; see his “Gruppen oder Typen? Zur Klassifizierung der Portraits von Ptolemaios III Euergetes,” in Numismatica e Antichita Classiche, XXXVIII, 2009, pl. II, no. 7.
2 HELLENISTIC MARBLE HEAD OF A HECATEION Depicting the triple-aspected Hecate Dadhouchos as protector of the home and guardian of the soul. Statues of this goddess were often placed in shrines at crossroads. 4th- 3rd Century BC. H. 4 7/8 in. (12.5 cm.) Ex Ancient and Medieval Art Ltd., Furneux, Pelham, England, dissolved in 1990. 3 HELLENISTIC MARBLE HEAD OF APHRODITE (VENUS) WRINGING HER HAIR The goddess of love, fertility, beauty, and marriage, arising from the sea. 3rd-2nd Century BC H. 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) Ex collection of Kenzo Takada, Paris, acquired ca. 1970; Drouot, Paris, 2007. Published: J. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, vol. XIX, no. 8, 2008.
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