Lepidotus fish

Unknown

664–30 B.C. · Cupreous metal · Egyptian Art

The lepidotus fish was sacred to the Egyptians, and was linked in mythology to the story of the god Seth’s dismemberment of Osiris. The esteem afforded this fish is apparent in the care and detail of some of its representations. Here the scales and fins are finely executed, the round eyes large and thickly rimmed. A tang on the underside would have attached the fish to another element, possibly a statuette, plinth, or a mummy box.

Artist

Unknown

Date

664–30 B.C.

Medium

Cupreous metal

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910