Head of the Statue of a Bovine Deity
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Parts of two statues depicting bovines were found reused as building material in the foundations of the Montu temple at el-Tod. Stylistic features, particularly the position and treatment of the eyes and the delicate modeling, indicate that they were made during the Twelfth Dynasty. The statues may depict the war god Montu, who takes a bull form in later periods, but they also may represent the cow goddess Hathor, who was prominent during the Middle Kingdom.
Parts of two statues depicting bovines were found reused as building material in the foundations of the Montu temple at el-Tod. Stylistic features, particularly the position and treatment of the eyes and the delicate modeling, indicate that they were made during the Twelfth Dynasty. The statues may depict the war god Montu, who takes a bull form in later periods, but they also may represent the cow goddess Hathor, who was prominent during the Middle Kingdom.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of the Statue of a Bovine Deity
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 11-12
- Date: ca. 2124-1981 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, El-Tod
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: 17 11/16 × 21 1/4 × 11 13/16 in. (45 × 54 × 30 cm)
- Credit Line: Paris, Louvre Museum, Departement des Antiquités égyptiennes
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art