Lion-headed goddess

Unknown

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

Lion-headed goddesses in Egypt encompassed numerous deities including Sakhmet, Wadjet, and Bastet, among others. In this guise, the goddesses were fierce protective deities, but ones that could also bring about destruction on behalf of the gods, both through violence and through plague and pestilence. This figure utilizes several iconographic elements common to many lion-headed goddesses including the seated posture, the lion’s mane combined with a tripartite wig, and the long gown. A shallow break at the top of the head indicates that the goddess once wore a crown; in some cases a crown can help narrow down the possible identity of a lion-headed goddess, although without an inscription, a precise identification is still difficult. A square casting patch on her buttocks marks the location of an ancient repair.

Artist

Unknown

Date

664–30 B.C.

Medium

Cupreous metal

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904