Statuette of Sekhmet

Statuette of Sekhmet

Third Intermediate Period, 1076-723 BC

Egypt

Bronze
37.7 cm High x 7.4 cm x 7.1 cm

2018.010.139

This standing figure represents a lion-headed goddess, most likely Sekhmet, whose name means “The Powerful One.” Her attributes include a sun disk with a uraeus. Together they connect her with the sun god, Re, and emphasize her roles as his daughter, as the “Eye of the Sun,” and as protector of the king.

The goddess stands with arms at her side and is clothed in a gown to her ankles. The lioness wears bracelets and armlets and a multi-strand broad collar on her chest. Her head is covered by a combination of a tripartite wig and leonine mane. Her eyes were once inlaid. High-waisted torsos and long legs are typical for the Third Intermediate Period, along with finely detailed incision. 

The statuette was once part of the Dr. Jacob von Hirsch (1874-1955) collection and sold at the auction, Collection Hirsch: antiquités égyptiennes, grecques et romaines (Paris: Hôtel Drouot, 1921), lot number 33. The statuette was purchased by Georges Ricard for the Senusret Collection 13 October 1974 from Roger F. Galliano, a member of the Conciliation Commission at Central Customs in Paris, certified expert of the Chamber of Auctioneers of France and Judicial Officer of Geneva.

Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Parallels and References:
Christie’s New York, Antiquities sale no. 12257, lot 42. Ex collection Omar Pacha Sultan, Cairo