A recent interpretation of figurines depicting a baboon playing an instrument suggest they relate to the myth of “The Return of the Faraway Goddess.” In this myth, the feline goddess Bastet was angry at the sun god Re, and left Egypt for Nubia. Re sent the baboon god Thoth to entice Bastet with fables. Musicians and dancers accompanied Bastet back to Egypt, and her arrival brought good fortune to Egypt.

Ex collection Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, late 19th century- early 20th century.  Georges Ricard purchased the faience baboon for the Senusret Collection on 1 February 1975 from Jean-Francois Mignon, who bought and sold objects privately in Aix-en Provence. He started his career under Roger F. Galliano, a member of the Conciliation Commission at Central Customs in Paris, certified expert of the Chamber of Auctioneers of France and Judicial Officer of Geneva.]]> Senusret Collection: Usage and Reproduction Rights]]> New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 44.4.17

Emerit, Sibylle, 2013. Music and Musicians. In Willeke Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. ]]> 6 cm High x 2.8 cm x 1.9 cm]]> Image: 30 x 26 in. (76.2 x 66 cm)]]> H. Delaporte (printer) (French, active 19th Century)
Aubert et Compagnie (publisher) (French, active 19th Century)]]> ]]>
The cartonnage mask and mummy trappings were once part of the collection of Princess Maddevi Yukanthor, who was born in 1925 and lives in Paris. The mask was purchased by Georges Ricard for the Senusret Collection on 5 April 1974 from Roger F. Galliano, a member of the Conciliation Commission at Central Customs in Paris, certified expert of the Chamber of Auctioneers of France and Judicial Officer of Geneva.

[See additional images below]]]> Senusret Collection: Usage and Reproduction Rights]]> Washington, DC. Smithsonian, CAT number A553190
]]> Mummy mask: 34 cm High x 20 cm x 6 cm
Abdominal trapping: 15.3 cm High x 25.2 cm
Collar: 15.3 cm High x 26.2 cm
Leg cover: 37 cm High x 11.2 cm ]]>
This cartonnage head has a gilded face, and a polychrome wig, bust and details. The tripartite wig is divided into three registers on either side. At the top are confronting falcons, the middle has representations of the mummy before the seated Osiris, and at the bottom, two sets of the Four Sons of Horus face each other on either side. The top of the wig is crowned with a winged scarab and vulture goddess Nekhbet, both with wings outstretched. Nekhbet wears the atef-crown. To either side of the wig are registers with rosettes, udjat eyes, and various geometric motifs. On the back of the case are the figures of Isis and Nephthys protecting the mummy.

The mask was purchased by Georges Ricard for the Senusret Collection on 29 May 1972 in Lille, France at the Exceptionnelle vente aux enchères publiques, lot number 9.

[See additional images below]]]> Senusret Collection: Usage and Reproduction Rights]]> London, Petrie Museum of Archaeology,from Hawara, Egypt, Ptolemaic, 332-330 BC.

Stadler, Martin Andreas 2004. Ägyptische Mumienmasken in Würzburg (Schenkung Gütte). Wiesbaden: Reichert.]]> 45.5 cm High x 30.2 cm x 23.3 cm]]>