Statuette of a standing woman dressed in chiton and peplos

Object Details

• Label

  In 1909, Charles Lang Freer purchased nine objects from a treasure of thirty-six pieces found in Egypt. Scholars initially thought the objects were from an Egyptian workshop, but recent studies suggest that the "treasure" was probably made in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire (330-1453). Very likely the objects arrived in Egypt shortly after they were made, sometime between 500 and 700, either as gifts from the Byzantine Emperor or as valuables acquired by a prominent Egyptian family.

  The Byzantine Empire included parts of Europe and western Asia and lay at the Mediterranean terminus of the Silk Route.

• Provenance

  ?-?

  Reportedly acquired Tomet, near Assiut, Upper Egypt [1]

  ?-?

  Unidentified individual, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  ?-1909

  Unidentified dealer, purchased from an unidentified individual [3]

  1909

  Maurice Nahman (1868-1948), Cairo, Egypt, purchased from the unidentified dealer [4]

  1909-1920

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Maurice Nahman with assistance from Walter Dennison (1859-1917) [5]

  From 1920

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Charles Lang Freer [6]

  Notes:

  [1] F1909.61 to F1909.70 are a group of ten objects acquired by Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) in 1909 from the Cairo dealer Maurice Nahman (1868-1948). The objects were originally from a set of thirty-six objects found near Tomet, a village in the vicinity of Assiut, in Upper Egypt.

  See letter from Maurice Nahman to Charles Lang Freer, dated April 22, 1909, p. 2, from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, Series 2 Correspondence, 1860s-1920, Box 24, Folder 28, copy in object file. Maurice Nahman’s letter states that, “The gold treasure has been found in a small village called Tonnch near Assoiut [sic, Tomet near Assiut] province Upper Egypt. I think the man who sold me this treasure is an Arab proprietor. Very sharp and he must get other things of the treasure. I am making my best with him to get all the lot but as he is afraid, he bring[s] piece by piece when I must expect every journey till I can get a piece from him. I interrogated him about the treasure and he answered me that he think the wandering Arab of theirs found just near this village of Tonnch Assoiut [sic, Tomet Assiut] a box containg [sic, containing] all the treasure but he says that he cannot get the whole at once he must await and buy piece by piece.”

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

  [4] See transcriptions of telegrams between Walter Dennison, Maurice Nahman, and Charles Lang Freer, dated between April 13, 1909, and April 17, 1909, from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, Series 2 Correspondence, 1860s-1920, Box 24, Folder 28, copy in object file. Walter Dennison was a professor of Latin at the University of Michigan and in Italy. While in Cairo as a delegate to the Fourteenth Archaeological Congress (1908-1909), he learned of the discovery of the first portion of the objects discovered near Tomet. Dennison’s telegram advised Charles Lang Freer to purchase these objects from Maurice Nahman.

  See also letter from Maurice Nahman to Charles Lang Freer, dated May 6, 1909, p. 1, from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, Series 2 Correspondence, 1860s-1920, Box 24, Folder 28, copy in object file. Maurice Nahman’s letter states, “I have received from the Credit Lyonnais of Cairo by cablegram the sum of nineteen hundred pounds and forty five stg (L stgs 1945) for the things you had the kindness to buy I expected the return of Mr. Dannison [sic, Dennison] last week to pack the things in his presence and we went together to the Kasr El Nil Museum for sealing the boxes and pay the duties. Then we sent them in four parcels insured addressed to the Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C. Care Collector Port of New York. [/] The box No. 1 contains the treasure, Medallion of Theodosius, a pair of earrings with pearls, the cristal [sic, crystal] statue of Theodosius, two bracelets in gold with shells, three small medallions with Greek ecclesuastic [sic ecclesiastic] inscription, all in a tin box in the parcel box, the amethist [sic, amethyst] vase. [/] […] [/] All the box closed very properly and covered with paper and sealed. I shall be very glad, Dear Sir, if you can postpone your journey and you see the things before your leaving America because I am sure they will not reach you before the 29th of May because they have been sent the 29th April to America; and they are very slow with the insured parcels.”

  Maurice Nahman (1868-1948) was a banker at Crédit Foncier Égyptien (active 1884-1924) and a well-known dealer of antiquities (active 1890-1948). In 1913, he purchased a gallery space at the address 27 Madebegh Street (Sherif Street), later known as “Casa Nahman.” Fluent in French and English, Nahman’s clients included American and European collectors, dealers, and institutions. He also sold object at public auction in Cairo and in London. Nahman’s gallery remained open for several years following his death. His collection was dispersed and sold by his heirs, including at public auction at the Hotel Drouot in Paris in February and June 1953. See Elizabeth Dospěl Williams, "Into the Hands of a Well-Known Antiquary of Cairo: The Assiut Treasure and the Making of an Archaeological Hoard" [journal article] from “West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture,” vol. 21, no. 2 (2014), pp. 259-260.

  [5] See the Charles Lang Freer art voucher no. 24, “In Favor of The Peoples State Bank, Detroit” to Maurice Nahman, dated April 1909 (marked as paid on April 19, 1909) from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, Series 6.5.2 Financial materials – Vouchers – Art vouchers, Box 116, Folder 4, copy in object file.

  See also letter from an unidentified individual (possibly J. M. Kennedy, Esq.) at 915 Union Trust Building, Detroit, Michigan, to Maurice Nahman, dated June 3, 1909, from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, from Charles Lang Freer Papers, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art Archives, Washington, DC, Series 2 Correspondence, 1860s-1920, Box 24, Folder 28,

  copy in object file. The letter states, “I beg to advise you that the four parcels which you shipped for account of Mr. Charles L. Freer on April 29th, last, to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., have been received, […].”

  [6] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer’s gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

  The object is part of the museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.

  Research updated October 18, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2025)

  Ancient Art of the Near East (November 21, 2009 to December 1, 2011)

  Luxury Arts of the Silk Route Empires (May 9, 1993 to January 28, 2007)

  Armenian Manuscripts (May 15, 1979 to March 11, 1980)

  Christian Art (December 1, 1971 to April 7, 1978)

  Christian Art (January 1, 1963 to May 15, 1968)

  Untitled Exhibition, Armenian and Byzantine Art (July 28, 1958 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 6 Alcove (February 25, 1956 to July 22, 1958)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Near Eastern Art, East Corridor (October 26 to November 10, 1955)

  Special Exhibition, Armenian Manuscripts and East Christian Art (February 15, 1955 to April 13, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Near Eastern Art, 1947 (June 18, 1947 to October 26, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Armenian Manuscripts, Gallery 6, 1947 (April 23 to October 3, 1947)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Maurice Nahman (1868-1948) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Istanbul, Turkey

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s, 400s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Nahman, Maurice

• Place

  Istanbul

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Byzantine period (330 - 1453), Ancient Near Eastern Art, Woman

• Culture

  Middle Easterners, Turks

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes