Scarab with Vulture Godess Mut
Even though the goddess Mut is generally represented in her anthropomorphic form, often with the head of a lioness, she can also be embodied in a vulture like on this scarab; her name is written with the vulture holding a flagellum (Mut). Mut is the Egyptian word for mother, as she was considered the mother of the gods and of the king, and a mother goddess in general. Behind the vulture is the sign for good and beautiful (nefer), at the top is a sun disk with two uraei, while Mut’s divine epithet ‘lady of the sky’ is written below. The reference to the sun disk suggests that Mut is associated here with the sun god; like other leonine goddesses, Mut is another goddess called ‘Eye of Re’.
Artwork Details
- Title: Scarab with Vulture Godess Mut
- Period: Third Intermediate Period or Late Period
- Dynasty: Dynasty 21–26
- Date: ca. 1070–525 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Faience
- Dimensions: L. 1.4 × W. 1 cm (9/16 × 3/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910
- Object Number: 10.130.646
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
ca. 1961–1878 B.C.
332–30 BCE
332–30 BCE
332–30 BCE
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