Isis Nursing Horus
332 B.C.E.–30 C.E.
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Caption
Isis Nursing Horus, 332 B.C.E.–30 C.E.. Bronze, 8 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (22.2 x 7 x 5.4 cm) mount (display dimensions): 9 5/8 x 2 3/8 x 3 1/8 in. (24.4 x 6 x 7.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.49. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Isis Nursing Horus
Date
332 B.C.E.–30 C.E.
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
Geography
Place made: Egypt, Place collected: Akhmim, Egypt
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (22.2 x 7 x 5.4 cm) mount (display dimensions): 9 5/8 x 2 3/8 x 3 1/8 in. (24.4 x 6 x 7.9 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
08.480.49
Frequent Art Questions
What's this hat all about? Sorta looks like bull horns?
Exactly! Those are two horns with a sun disk between them! You're looking at a statue of the goddess Isis, commonly shown with this headdress, along with the child Horus. The kind of cows native to Egypt also have horns like this.When she isn't wearing this sun disk with horns, Isis is shown crowned with the throne hieroglyph, a method of writing her name.What is the thing protruding from their foreheads?
That thing on their foreheads is known as a uraeus, a term which refers to the cobra included in ancient Egyptians royal headdresses. This cobra was a protective symbol worn by royalty and associated with the Egyptian goddess Wadjet. She used her fearsome powers as a cobra to defend the nation.Awesome! Thank you.
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