Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 102-103. (Budapest, 2005)
ZOLTÁN HORVÁTH: A unique servant statue in the Egyptian Collection
figurine was produced. In light of this discovery, the piece called for reconsideration. At first, the three statuettes will be investigated as a group, with special emphasis laid on features suggesting that they are relatively modern forgeries. Furthermore, it will be argued that our figure has been equipped with a wooden tablet, cut out from a large genuine writing board to fit the context. Finally, the essay will focus on Freud's concept of collecting Egyptian antiquities and discuss the function the statuette may have fulfilled as part of this collection. SERVANT STATUETTES IN THE FREUD COLLECTION Freud's collection of antiquities is housed at 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, now the Freud Museum London: an imposing, brick building which was the scholar's residence during the last months of his life. In 1938, after the Nazis invaded Austria, Freud left his Viennese home (Berggasse 19), and the whole collection accompanied him to London, though he was demanded to pay a ransom for the release, some 25% tax of the estimated value of all his personal belongings. Unlike many private collections, that of Freud has been kept virtually intact following the death of the owner, with the exception of 80 objects that Freud's daughter, Anna, graciously sent back to the Viennese Freud Museum in 1971. The core of Freud's collection was comprised of figurative works, sculpture and portraits, and these fine statuettes evoking for him the spirit of antiquity occupied the most prominent places in his study and consulting room: e.g., his writing desk was crowded with rows of small figurines acting for him as a constant source of inspiration. His collection counts more than two thousand pieces, almost half of which are Egyptian or Egyptian-looking artefacts. Glass cases filled with hundreds of antiquities contain even today a large number of Egyptian figurines. Statuettes comparable to the Budapest piece can be seen in black-and-white photographs showing Freud's study, taken by Edmund Engelman in 1938, not long before Freud left Austria. 15 A group of servant statues, all made of gessoed and painted wood, have been carefully placed in two rows on top of a cabinet and on the shelf right above it. Despite the wide range of postures, these figures on the shelf constitute a homogeneous assemblage. Moreover, two particular pieces each representing a squatting scribe, correspond to the Budapest statuette to a degree that their close affinity cannot be disputed. 16 The Freud Museum's figure of a seated scribe holds a writing board, which is pegged to the base and supported by the left arm (figs. 7 and 8). 17 A horizontal
