Bust of the Goddess Sakhmet. Egypt, from Thebes. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amunhotep III, circa 1390–1352 B.C.E. Granodiorite, 39 x 19 7/8 x 15 9/16 in. (99 x 50.5 x 39.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. W. Benson Harer, Jr. in honor of Richard Fazzini and the excavations of the Temple of Mut in South Karnak; the Mary Smith Dorward Fund; and the Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 1991.311
This bust from a life-size statue of the goddess Sakhmet shows her in her usual form, with the head, ears, and ruff of a lioness and the body of a woman. She wears a female wig and necklace and a dress with rosettes on the straps. Sakhmet's name meant "the Powerful One"; the sun disk (now damaged) and the cobra on her head invoke her manifestation as the Eye of Re, the sun god. Sakhmet was a protector of Egypt and its king, but if not placated she could become dangerous. Amunhotep III commissioned many Sakhmet statues at Thebes to elicit the goddess's beneficence. This bust comes from one of these statues.
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