Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Cippus of Horus (magical stela)

Ptolemaic Period
332–30 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134
This small stela is representative of the genre of Egyptian art known as the cippus (plural, cippi) or magical stela. An image of the infant Horus on the front beneath a Bes-image is shown subduing dangerous animals. The Metternich Stela (acc. 50.85) is the largest and most elaborate example of the genre.

Texts on such stelae often include a reference to transforming water poured over the stela into a curative libation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cippus of Horus (magical stela)
  • Period: Ptolemaic Period
  • Date: 332–30 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Soapstone
  • Dimensions: h. 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.) × w. 1.8 cm (11/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910
  • Object Number: 10.130.1164
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Boat-shaped earrings with filigree and granule decoration, Gold
Boat-shaped earrings with filigree and granule decoration
1st–2nd century CE
Magical Stela with Horus the Child, Metagraywacke
Magical Stela with Horus the Child
360–343 BCE
Statuette of Isis with the infant Horus, Faience
Statuette of Isis with the infant Horus
332–30 BCE
Boat-shaped earrings with filagree and granule decoration, Gold
Boat-shaped earrings with filagree and granule decoration
1st–2nd century CE
Limestone funerary cippus (tomb marker), Limestone, Roman, Cypriot
Limestone funerary cippus (tomb marker)
Roman, Cypriot
2nd–3rd century CE

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.