© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Harpocrates

Possible OriginAlexandria, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodRoman Period

Dateca. 1st Century CE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions3 5/16 x 2 3/8 x 1 in., 180 g (8.4 x 6.1 x 2.6 cm, 6 3/8 oz.)

Object number2018.010.765

Label TextHarpocrates was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian name Horus-pa-khered, meaning “Horus the Child.” Harpocrates was the child form of Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis.

The chubby child god wears a chiton that drapes around his body. He steps to the right and turns his head slightly to the left as he raises his finger toward his mouth. In Ptolemaic-Roman Alexandria, this gesture pleaded silence so that the secrets of the Isis mystery cult would not be disclosed. In his left hand, he holds a cornucopia (horn of plenty) entwined by a cobra wearing a sun disk. Harpocrates wears the sidelock of youth, a rayed headdress, and the hemhem-crown.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Gallery, October 25, 2023 - Present
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 28.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Alain Renner, Issoudun, France.

Status

On view

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