A child god, probably Harpokrates

Ptolemaic Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134

This small statuette of a child god was found in the catacombs of the Falcon Complex in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, where offerings made in the shrine were buried after an undetermined period. Inscribed material suggests this branch of the catacombs was sealed in about 89 B.C., dating the statuette to that time or earlier.
Although child gods are difficult to distinguish from one another in the absence of an inscription or highly specific iconography, the falcon spread across the back of this figure's headcloth tends to support his identification with Horus-the-Child, that is, Harpokrates, as indeed does the particular deposit context at Saqqara, since falcon was the sacred animal of Horus.

A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

front

A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded
A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded
A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded
A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded
A child god, probably Harpokrates, Leaded bronze, formerly gilded

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.