Lion-headed goddess

Late Period–Ptolemaic Period

664–30 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

Lion-headed goddesses in Egypt encompassed numerous deities including Sakhmet, Wadjet, and Bastet, among others. In this guise, the goddesses were fierce protective deities, but ones that could also bring about destruction on behalf of the gods, both through violence and through plague and pestilence. This figure utilizes several iconographic elements common to many lion-headed goddesses including the seated posture, the lion’s mane combined with a tripartite wig, and the long gown. A shallow break at the top of the head indicates that the goddess once wore a crown; in some cases a crown can help narrow down the possible identity of a lion-headed goddess, although without an inscription, a precise identification is still difficult. A square casting patch on her buttocks marks the location of an ancient repair.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Lion-headed goddess
Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
Date: 664–30 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt
Medium: Cupreous metal
Dimensions: H. 16.2 cm (6 3/8 in.); W. 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.); D. 8.9 cm (3 1/2 in.)
H. (with tang): 17 cm (6 11/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904
Object Number: 04.2.424
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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