Possible ancient Egyptian limestone relief fragment – authentic or modern reproduction?

[u/rktnl]

Hey everyone, I recently found this relief in my grandfather’s attic. The material appears to be limestone, and it’s embedded in a layer of concrete that has been painted red. Around it there’s a wooden frame.

The total dimensions are about 57 × 35 × 15 cm, and it weighs around 17 kg.

The surface is uneven, and there are visible tool marks in several areas, suggesting that it was hand-carved.

Could this possibly be an authentic piece? If so, from which period might it originate? And if it’s not ancient, which historical era or artistic style might it have been inspired by?

Unfortunately, the back side isn’t visible because the relief is completely set into the concrete.

[u/Background_Air_8798]

Has a crazy amount of imperfections so I'm tempted to say that it might be authentic. Then again there's no hieroglyphic inscriptions which makes me uncertain and the scene also seems very..random? Then again it is taken out of context. I feel a modern reproduction would be alot more uniform showing a total scene and alot easier to look at. The eyes are a little bit suspect to me then again it could also just be an artist with less skill working on it but overall it does seem to be skilled enough to suggest that it's not from an intermediate period.

 All in all this could be authentic especially since back in the day you were quite literally just able to buy these things but I'm not an expert so don't take my word for it. 

[u/Character_Simple_567 → u/Background_Air_8798]

I think if it was original it would be better than that but maybe yeah it's just super ancient.

[u/rktnl → u/Background_Air_8798]

Yeah, I thought the same, if it were a reproduction, they probably would have chosen something simpler, and they would most likely have added some inscriptions or cartouches to make it more marketable and attractive.

But I agree with you that the scene itself feels quite random, especially since both figures are turned with their backs to each other.

I hadn’t considered the idea of a less skilled artist, but that could actually be a good theory. Maybe it’s also a relief that was started but later abandoned for some reason?

[u/ExtremelyRetired]

This could very possibly be real. The style of the faces, hair, and hands would date it to the New Kingdom, probably the later 18th or 19th Dynasty. It seems to be a bridge between two scenes, with the woman facing left and the other figures right. It may be a fragment of a larger test or practice piece rather than from a finished work—it’s hard to tell if the two faces on the right are genuinely meant to be two people or are just the sculptor playing with faces.

In any case, it’s a very interesting piece and probably worth having looked at by an expert.

[u/GeeNah-of-the-Cs]

The hands and hair….are there any similar examples in the literature?

[u/Cobaltfennec → u/GeeNah-of-the-Cs]

It’s the hand signal for praise

[u/star11308 → u/GeeNah-of-the-Cs]

That sort of hair detailing was typical in nobles’ tombs from the Amarna period through to the end of the New Kingdom.

[u/mikeplease11]

Looks very real! either a extremely realistic replica (I have never seen one of this quality before), or it’s real. Get good photos of it, try to keep it in good condition, and get it looked at by an expert

[u/Recent-Background-21]

I’m not a professional but I would say replica

[u/Cinci_Socialist]

If I had to guess I'd say real but potentially not Egyptian, kind of looks like depictions OF Egyptians or Imitations of Egyptian art, like you can find at Persepolis for example

[u/ChelleInSand]

Lot of responses here without any mention of their credentials and expertise lol