The Goddess Isis and her Son Horus
Unknown Artist
332–30 B.C.
Medium
Faience
Dimensions
H. 17 cm (6 11/16 in); W. 5.1 cm (2 in.); D. 7.7 cm (3 1/16 in.)
Classification
Statuette of Isis with the Horus child
Period
Ptolemaic Period
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest Fund, 1955
Accession Number
55.121.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming faience figurine from Egypt's Ptolemaic Period332–30 B.C.) depicts the goddess Isis tenderly nursing her son Horus, a beloved motif symbolizing maternal protection, fertility, and divine kingship Crafted during the era of Greek rule following Alexander the Great's conquest such small sculptures blended enduring Egyptian religious traditions with Hellenistic, serving as personal amlets or votive offerings homes and temples. At just 17 cm tall, piece would have been portable, offering everyday worshippers a tangible connection to Isis, the powerful sorceress-mother who resurrected ...