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God's Wife Tagerem, daughter of the priest Imhotep

Ptolemaic Period
300–250 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 131
The priestess Tagerem was God's Wife of the god Re in Sakhebu in the southwestern Delta, a temple functionary of special order, intimate of the god. The statue embodies the perfected ideal of the female form attained in the early part of the Egyptian Ptolemaic period (approximately 300-250 B.C.): demure in its composure and yet alluring.

A recent study (Panov 2018) notes that the possibilities grew in the Late Period for women to record elements of their own biographies on stelae and statues. While men's biographies deal with their careers, women's deal with their families and religious roles. Frequently employed epithets sugest the ideal woman was amiable, both well-spoken and useful in what she says, beautiful, and kind toward others.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: God's Wife Tagerem, daughter of the priest Imhotep
  • Period: Ptolemaic Period
  • Dynasty: Ptolemaic Dynasty
  • Date: 300–250 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Western Delta, Sakhebu
  • Medium: Limestone
  • Dimensions: H. 42 cm (16 1/2 in)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Liana Weindling Gift, in memory of her mother, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.18
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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