Provenance:
Samuel-Jean Pozzi (1846-1918), France.
Hótel Drouot, Paris, Archeologie, 30 June-1 July 1997, Lot 178.
(with invoice copy)

Note:
This eroticon of an ithyphallic dwarf—a symbol or male fertility in ancient Egypt—comes from the collection of Dr. Samuel-Jean Pozzi (1846-1918), a French surgeon and gynecologist with an interest in antiquity. He also had an impressive number of liaisons with the Parisian elite and friendships with renowned artists, including the painter John Singer Sargent. Sargent would later paint Pozzi in 1881 wearing a red dressing gown and title it Dr. Pozzi at Home (Hammer Museum, Los Angles, California). Pozzi’s cultured demeanor and striking appearance led him to be nicknamed “The Siren” by his peers.