Bronze Statuette of Harpocrates

Egypt, 1st century A.D.
Solid cast
H. 24.0 cm (9 7/16")
Burton Y. Berry Collection, 76.35.43

Just as Isis took on the attributes of Aphrodite, so the son of Isis, Harpocrates, became Aphrodite's son, Eros. As Harpocrates, however, he wears the pschent, or pharaonic double crown, which combines the insignias of Upper Egypt (in the shape of a mitre) and Lower Egypt (an inflated hood, here without a stinger at the front). The finely polished bronze surface of this beautifully preserved statuette indicates that it was made in a high quality workshop. Yet the contrast between the childish face of the figure and its mature body, posture, and drapery is puzzling. Recent research has identified an ancient form of mass production especially evident in Greco-Roman Egypt. Workshops duplicated popular small-scale statuettes, often in creative ways: in order to produce replicas with a difference, the artisans took partial molds from different statuary types and combined them, sometimes disregarding matters of congruity. The body of a standing Zeus, Asclepius, or Serapis might have been used for our Harpocrates.