Attachment head of the Egyptian goddess Mut
The head of the Egyptian goddess Mut, the god Amun's consort, was made as an attachment for something else, perhaps a piece of processional equipment or a large ritual vessel. The goddess wears her usual double crown, whose colors have been alluded to with precious metals: the lower element of the crown, traditionally red, is here covered in gold leaf, as the Egyptians associated gold with that color; the crown's traditionally white upper element is covered with electrum leaf, paler in hue and presumably intended to signify white.
Mut was an ancient Egyptian mother goddess known as the "World-Mother" and the "Eye of Ra," often depicted as a woman with a vulture headdress or a lioness head, symbolizing her maternal and protective powers. Her name means "mother" in the ancient Egyptian language. As part of the Theban Triad with her consort Amun-Ra and their son Khonsu, she was a key figure in the Egyptian pantheon, especially in the city of Thebes. In art, Mut was usually depicted as a woman wearing the double crown of the kings of Egypt, representing her power over the whole of the land.
Egyptian, Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1070-664 BCE; leaded bronze, gold, electrum, Egyptian Blue, glass inlays.
Formerly in the collection of Lord Carnarvon, who sponsored the King Tutankhamen dig.
Met Museum, New York (26.7.1427)
Attachment head of the Egyptian goddess Mut
The head of the Egyptian goddess Mut, the god Amun's consort, was made as an attachment for something else, perhaps a piece of processional equipment or a large ritual vessel. The goddess wears her usual double crown, whose colors have been alluded to with precious metals: the lower element of the crown, traditionally red, is here covered in gold leaf, as the Egyptians associated gold with that color; the crown's traditionally white upper element is covered with electrum leaf, paler in hue and presumably intended to signify white.
Mut was an ancient Egyptian mother goddess known as the "World-Mother" and the "Eye of Ra," often depicted as a woman with a vulture headdress or a lioness head, symbolizing her maternal and protective powers. Her name means "mother" in the ancient Egyptian language. As part of the Theban Triad with her consort Amun-Ra and their son Khonsu, she was a key figure in the Egyptian pantheon, especially in the city of Thebes. In art, Mut was usually depicted as a woman wearing the double crown of the kings of Egypt, representing her power over the whole of the land.
Egyptian, Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1070-664 BCE; leaded bronze, gold, electrum, Egyptian Blue, glass inlays.
Formerly in the collection of Lord Carnarvon, who sponsored the King Tutankhamen dig.
Met Museum, New York (26.7.1427)