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A possible portrait of Ptolemy I from Dedoplis Gora in Caucasian Iberia (Georgia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2021

David Gagoshidze
David Gagoshidze*
Affiliation:
Georgian National Museum
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Abstract:

In 2017, during the archaeological excavations of room N24 of the Palace of Dedoplis Gora (Caucasian Iberia, Georgia), built in the 2nd–1st c. BCE, fragments of a small statuette carved from bone were discovered. The statuette is a miniature sphinx with a human head and may have been an element of furniture. The male head is adorned with the nemes, a headdress worn by pharaohs. In this article, I suggest that the head of the sphinx may portray Ptolemy I Soter, the first king of Ptolemaic Egypt. Some scholars believe that artifacts containing Ptolemaic portraits came to Georgia among diplomatic gifts sent by Mark Antony to Pharnabazos II, for it was he who had close relationships with the Ptolemaic court. In my opinion the bone sphinx with the head of Ptolemy I appeared in Caucasian Iberia together with these items.

Keywords

Caucasian IberiaDedoplis GoraHellenistic periodsphinxPtolemy I
Type
Archaeological Note
Information
Journal of Roman Archaeology , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , June 2021 , pp. 211 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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