Part from Shrine for a Divine Image
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The central panel here is inscribed for the Thirtieth Dynasty king Nectanebo II (reigned circa 360–342 B.C.). It comes from a shrine that presumably held a cult statue of the squatting goddess it depicts. Showing a figure in heavy, enveloping robes like this was a standard way of representing deities and symbolizing protection and the potential for life and regeneration. The resemblance to a wrapped mummy has led some Egyptologists to wonder: Is a mummy a body stylized into a divine image?
The side panels are probably from a different and earlier shrine.
Caption
Part from Shrine for a Divine Image, ca. 664–342 B.C.E.. Wood, glass, 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.259E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Part from Shrine for a Divine Image
Date
ca. 664–342 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 26 to Dynasty 30
Period
Late Period
Geography
Reportedly from: Abusir, Egypt
Medium
Wood, glass
Classification
Dimensions
14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
37.259E
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