A Polychrome Wood Sarcophagus Mask, 25th/26th Dynasty, 750-525 B.C.

painted over a layer of linen and gesso, wearing a fragmentary broad collar, braided beard with spiral tip, and tripartite wig, the broad face with straight nose and large eyes with long eyebrows and cosmetic lines.

said to have been found near Meidun
Rainer Kriebel (1908-?), acquired in Cairo in 1965/1966
by descent to the present owner

Proper left ear and side of wig have been rejoined with glue and steel clamps in the back, note flaking and losses to paint on face and beard and to Egyptian Blue on wig, scattered areas of light incrustation, heavier incrustation concentrated on forehead, proper left eye and front of beard, possible patch of overpainting below proper right cosmetic line
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

After serving during the second World War Rainer Kriebel was recruited as an analyst by US military intelligence. He then became a military advisor to Syria in the 1950s, and later military attaché to the German Federal Republic's embassy to Egypt in Cairo in the 1960s. He is the co-author of Inside the Afrika Corps, London, 1999. References to his career can be found in: J. Ballinger, The Shattered Silence: The Eli Cohen Affair, New York, 1971, and Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1964, Munich, 1995.