Harpokrates in red crown
Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
Not on view
The figure represents a child god in a striding/standing position, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, which alludes to his royal status. The child god is distinguished from adult gods by a range of iconographic clues: his nudity, the finger raised to the mouth (a child-like gesture), and the sidelock on the right side of his head. He wears an amulet, an attribute common to child gods but not adult gods, as well as a streamer on the back of his crown, armlets and bracelets.
Child gods grew in popularity and cult from the Third Intermediate Period onwards, rivaling even the most powerful and ancient gods, especially as temple offerings. Without an inscription, it can be very difficult to securely distinguish and identify particular child gods, but here the red crown likely identifies the god as Harpokrates (Horus the Child), who was the son of Osiris and Isis.
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