Statuette of Isis and Horus

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period

Date722-332 BCE

MediumWood, gilt

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions2 1/2 x 1 1/8 x 1 in., 19 g (6.3 x 2.9 x 2.5 cm, 11/16 oz.)

Object number2018.010.557

Label TextThis small figurine depicts Isis enthroned, suckling her son Horus whose figure no longer remains. Similar votive statues were deposited in Ptolemaic sites at Abydos, Tuna el-Gebel, and north of Zawyat Barmasha. Many statuettes were wrapped in linen to sanctify and safeguard them. The linen wrappings may also relate to Isis as the weaver of cloth.

The statue’s squat proportions highlight the action of Isis nursing. Her huge head is sunk into her broad shoulders. Her long arms that once cradled Horus dominate her shortened lower torso. She wears a wig and a modius on her head. Her separately fashioned crown with uraei, two horns, and a disk is missing.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 39.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.

Status

Not on view

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