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Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet

New Kingdom
ca. 1390–1352 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 899
This statue depicts Sakhmet, the goddess who represented the force of violence and unexpected disaster. Her potential for danger is symbolized by the lion's head with which she is depicted and by the sun disk she wears. Egyptian physicians saw the treatment of illness in part as appeasement of Sakhmet, and for that reason they were usually priests of the goddess. In withholding her power, Sakhmet bestowed life, symbolized by the ankh sign she holds in her left hand.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Statue of the Goddess Sakhmet
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Amenhotep III
  • Date: ca. 1390–1352 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt; Possibly from Upper Egypt, Thebes, Karnak
  • Medium: Granodiorite
  • Dimensions: H. 213 × W. 49.5 × D. 97.5 cm, 1370.3 kg (83 7/8 × 19 1/2 × 38 3/8 in., 3021 lb.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Henry Walters, 1915
  • Object Number: 15.8.3
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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