These deities with lion heads represent Sekhmet, a goddess associated with war and pestilence. On the amulet showing the goddess seated (cat. 78), her face and muzzle are very long. She wears an ankle-length gown. Her neck and the top of her chest are covered with a representation of the ruff of a lion.^[1] She holds a hoop-shaped sistrum (a ritual rattle) in her right hand, the instrument turned perpendicular to her body. The amulet is full of refined details, like Sekhmet’s thumb, which encircles the open section of the rattle. Sekhmet’s left hand grasps a flower-topped scepter that is often associated with her. Here, the staff follows the contours of the goddess’s body, making one 90° turn in her lap and another at her knees, causing it to resemble a seam in her gown where it covers her shins.1

The throne is decorated on the sides with pairs of the cobra-headed god Nehebkau (for an amulet representing this god, see cat. 73). Each of these figures raises a hand, which probably holds offerings, to his chin.^[2] There are various explanations for Nehebkau’s appearance in this context, the most persuasive of which is that he was associated with the god Re, Sekhmet’s father.^[3] The throne has a representation of fabric over its backrest. The back of the throne has two parallel lines along its edges, as if an inscription was to be added, and a large ankh sign at the bottom. A loop behind Sekhmet’s head allowed the amulet to be strung or attached to another surface. The amulet is covered with bright blue glaze that has turned green in some areas.2

The figure was made in a mold and then, before it was fired, parts of it were sculpted. The interior of the throne was hollowed out from the bottom and the design was cut out on both sides, as were the areas under her flexed arms, under and behind her hand and sistrum, and between the back of her legs and the throne. This complicated and time-consuming crafting technique went far beyond the effort (and hence the expense) of that used for other amulets, making it akin to a tiny sculpture.3

Additional Views of Cat. 78

The standing image of Sekhmet (cat. 79) shows her in a slightly different manner, with the lion’s ruff encircling her face. The lappets of her tripartite wig pass under the ruff and lie on her chest. Lines scored into the faience depict the whiskers of her muzzle, which is much shorter than it is on the other amulet. Sekhmet has a highly idealized body, with high, round breasts, a very narrow waist, long, slender legs, and extremely long fingers. She wears an ankle-length dress and a beaded collar that is visible between the lappets of her wig. The amulet’s very careful details include the stripes on Sekhmet’s broad collar and wig, her large, oval navel, her fingernails, and the definition of her toes. The area between her arms and body was carved out, leaving empty spaces. She steps forward with her left foot, displaying her capacity for action. The back pillar has a large piercing at the level just below the goddess’s breasts.4

Sekhmet was the daughter of Re and his “Eye.” She is one of the few deities with an ambivalent nature, rageful in her form as the lioness-headed Sekhmet but docile in her form as Bastet, who is represented by a domestic cat—a clever acknowledgment of the changeable moods of cats, who can quickly become aggressive. In one of the primary myths of the goddess, she became angry because humankind was plotting against her father Re, and she vowed to kill them all. To assuage her wrath, the gods dyed vats of beer red to simulate blood. Sekhmet drank the beer and, in her inebriation, forgot her anger. She is also regarded as the “distant goddess” who, in her anger with humankind, fled to Nubia. The god Thoth persuaded her to return to Egypt, luring her in part with the music of the sistrum. The sistrum is especially associated with the goddesses Bastet and Hathor. Here, the representation of Sekhmet holding the instrument may allude to her dual nature as Bastet.
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Additional Views of Cat. 79

For more on amulets, see About Amulets.6

Provenance

78.
Panayotis Kyticas (d. 1924), Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1892.7

79.
Émile Brugsch (1842–1930), Bulaq Museum and Egyptian Antiquities Service, Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1892.8

Publication History

78.
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923), 131.9

79.
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923), 131.
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