COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
AIC_.1894.261
AMICA Library Year:
1998
Object Type:
Sculpture
Creator Name:
Unknown
Creator Nationality:
African; North African; Egyptian
Creator Dates/Places:
Ancient Egypt Africa,North Africa,Egypt
Creator Name-CRT:
Egyptian
Title:
Statuette of Re Horakhty
Title Type:
preferred
View:
front view
Creation Date:
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21/25, c. 1069-656 B.C.
Creation Start Date:
-1069
Creation End Date:
-656
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze, gilt
Subject Description:
This solid cast bronze depicts Re Horakhty, one of the principal deities of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He is a combination of the gods Re and Horus, both of whom were associated with rebirth. The figure would originally have worn a disk-shaped crown that was inserted into the square hole in the top of his head. A tenon under each foot allowed the statuette to be set upon a separate bronze or wood base. Strokes above the eye imitate the markings of a falcon. This particular figure was evidently cherished, for its left foot was broken centuries ago and then repaired.
Creation Place:
Africa,North Africa,Egypt
Dimensions:
H.: 25 cm (9-7/8 in.); W.: 8.3 cm (3-1/8 in.)
AMICA Contributor:
The Art Institute of Chicago
Owner Location:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
ID Number:
1894.261
Credit Line:
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Robert H. Fleming
Inscriptions:
Inscription in gold on belt: Re Horakhty. the chief of the gods
Context:
Bronze figures of the gods are rarely encountered prior to the Third Intermediate Period (Dynasty 21, eleventh century B.C.). From that time onward, however, they appear in great numbers and in a staggering variety of themes and sizes. Many of these figues were inscribed with the name of a devotee, who deposited the statue in a temple as evidence of personal piety. The enormous popularity of this practice may be gathered by the discovery of 17,000 subh bronzes in a single deposit at the Temple of Karnak in 1903.
Related Image Identifier Link:
AIC_.E32297.TIF
