Hellenistic statuette of a young Isis devotee.... Lot 50

Hellenistic statuette of a young Isis devotee. 2nd century BC. H 36,3cm and with base 40,3cm. White, fine crystalline marble. Only roughly worked on the back. The figure, which in typical late Hellenistic manner extends downwards, shows a girl with her right hand on her hip, dressed in a wide robe that leaves only shoulders and arms free. Only the left leg pushes through a little under the vertical folds. In addition, the right toes peek out from under the hem of the robe. On top of the head sits a curled coiffure that pokes out from under a smooth cap. The upper arms, which were probably damaged, are worked off post-antique with straight surfaces. With French export license! Missing right arm, left arm missing, otherwise only minor chips, set in a wooden base. Last in Austrian private collection; ex Ader Nordman & Dominique Auction Paris November 27, 2018, lot 5; previously in the French private collection of Paul-Jacques Fouchet (1913 - 2008), acquired before 1960. French diplomat Paul-Jacques Fouchet was in Addis Ababa, Ankara and Baghdad before and at the beginning of World War 2. After his return in 1942, he joined the Resistance. Further stations after the end of the war were Algiers, Milan, New Delhi, Athens and Vienna, before he became ambassador to Niger, the Dominican Republic, Libya, Brazil and Sweden from 1962. Characteristic of the girl is the garment knotted in front of the chest, which is similarly found in depictions of priestesses or followers of Isis. Cf. for example the tomb stele of Sosobia in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston with the Accession Number 1971.209. The hairstyle pointing to Egypt - the country of origin of the goddess - also fits to this. However, this is an identity-forming attribute, since the statuette is unlikely to have been created in Egypt due to the lack of marble. Stylistically, the posture with the flared hips and the protruding left leg is strongly reminiscent of the sculpture of the 2nd century BC, which can be seen in extreme form, for example, in the Venus of Milo or somewhat softened in the robed statue AvP II 54 in the Pergamon Museum.