EGYPTIAN FAIENCE SEKHMET

Description: An image of the Egyptian feline goddess Sekhmet. As is common in Egyptian art, the goddess is seen with the body of a human and the head of an animal. The body is that of a young slender woman wearing a long tunic clinging to her figure. Only the arms and the feet are uncovered. The head is that of a lion. This hybrid figure is seated on a throne with a low backrest the sides of which are decorated with snakes representing Nehebkau, a primordial divinity of abundant and nutritive nature, a protector of royalty. On the back of the throne we find the ankh symbol, the cross commonly known as the “key of life”. This could only be carried by gods, goddesses and deceased kings (who after death became divine). Sekhmet is holding a lotus flower in her left hand just below the breast. The right arm is resting on her thighs.The pointy muzzle of the feline takes the place of a human face. The substitution of the mane by a human wig seems almost natural. The working of Sekhmet’s throne was done using a technique widely used at the end of the New Kingdom for faience work which is called “openwork”. Once the figure has been modelled, the necessary empty spaces are hollowed out with a sharpened knife. Despite the fragility and delicate nature of the piece, this amulet is an excellent state of preservation. The surface has kept part of its original intense turquoise colour. Even given the small size of the piece, the quality of the craftsmanship is excellent: the anatomical details, the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth have been rendered with precision. It includes german export license.| Egypt. 26th Dynasty, 664 – 525 BC

Condition: Intact, but with the loss of the ring from the back of the head which would have been used to hang the amulet. Notes: The piece includes authenticity certificate. For reasons of data protection, when the provenance of the pieces is private collections, only the initials of the particular collectors are shown, the complete information of these collections will be delivered to the buyer in the authenticity certificate. |The piece includes Spanish Export License ( Passport for European Union) - If the piece is destined outside the European Union a substitution of the export permit should be requested and an export fee must be paid ( see terms and conditions ). This process could take between 1 and 2 months.

Provenance: Private collection, H., Germany. Acquired in the 1960s. Dimensions: 5,60 cm. Literature: Optimus Princeps. J. Bagot Arqueología. Barcelona. 2017. Fig 06.