Skip Navigation

The Goddess Meret Shemau

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Images of the goddess Meret Shemau (“Meret of the Southern Lands”) are recognizable from the curl at the end of her hairdo and her distinctive gesture of greeting or clapping. Depictions of divine rituals show Meret Shemau as a chantress. This scene, when complete, probably depicted her greeting the king as he ran a ceremonial race.
MEDIUM Limestone
DATES ca. 1514-1493 B.C.E.
DYNASTY Dynasty 18
PERIOD New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS 9 9/16 x 12 7/8 in. (24.3 x 32.7 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 86.226.15
CREDIT LINE Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Creamy white limestone fragment with bold relief representation of upper portion of a girl, facing right, with one arm stretched out (other arm not shown), inscription above (three hieroglyphs only). Condition: Fragmentary but sound. Formerly broken into at least five pieces and well mended; scratches.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
CAPTION The Goddess Meret Shemau, ca. 1514-1493 B.C.E. Limestone, 9 9/16 x 12 7/8 in. (24.3 x 32.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.15. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.226.15_negA_bw_IMLS.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 86.226.15_negA_bw_IMLS.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.