Group statue with a Bes-image plucking a lyre
Bes was worshipped and invoked by ordinary Egyptians as a protector. His usual depiction, as a grotesque dwarf with a lion's ears and mane, was thought to deter the approach of the malevolent forces believed to cause illness. His image here appears in a bronze statuette made for the unnamed man shown worshipping the god. The lyre held by Bes may reflect his power to calm angry spirits.
Artwork Details
- Title: Group statue with a Bes-image plucking a lyre
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Dynasty: Dynasty 26–30
- Date: 664–30 BCE
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Cupreous metal
- Dimensions: L. 14.5 × W. 5.5 × H. 13.2 cm (5 11/16 × 2 3/16 × 5 3/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904
- Object Number: 04.2.403
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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550–300 B.C.
ca. 945–712 BCE
332–30 BCE
390–246 BCE
610–595 B.C.
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