Female Figure Supporting the God Bes on a Column
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
MEDIUM
Bronze
DATES
305–30 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Ptolemaic Period (probably)
DIMENSIONS
3 3/4 x 7/8 x 1/2 in. (9.6 x 2.3 x 1.3 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.544E
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
fBes, playing a musical instrument, surmounting a nude, bandy legged, female figure (Bast?) who nurses an infant. (and stands on a wild goat; standing on the goat’s haunches, and supporting himself by her right leg, is a nude child, also bandy-legged. The goat’s heads is erect but it lies on its side, with feet tied as for slaughter).
The goat reposes on a palm capital the shaft of which has been broken off 1 cm. below the horizontal bands under the capital. The form suggests a hair ornament, or a stylus, but the object is a bit heavy to be either of those things. Bes sits on the head of the supporting figure, with a foot on each shoulder, and his legs and tail represented in relief against her head. His instrument is a harp, the sounding box of which rests on the head of the goddess. The lower figure has her right hand raised holding to the god’s right foot, her left hand rests on the goat’s head. The nursing infant clings to her body and legs straddling her left hip. Incised lines indicate the details of capital and of Bes’s face and headdress. The goddess perhaps wears a short cap-like wig, armlets and bracelets. The top of Bes’s headdress is missing and the bronze is somewhat incrusted. The patina is green to brown.
Head of Bast, cap-like wig covering ears, dotted all over, dots incised. She wears armlets and bracelets. Horizontal incised lines on Bes’ tail and incised dots on his head and back (skin?) - palm capital has 6 palm leaves. The palm capital not all engraved, palm leaved cast in. Hole separating animal horns fr. head cast in. Dots of skin and wig cast in and then re-worked. Edges in some places a rough edge as of casting.
Condition: One piece cast. Good material. Well cast details (in contrast to engraved) and also good engraving the latter mostly effaced.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Female Figure Supporting the God Bes on a Column, 305–30 B.C.E. Bronze, 3 3/4 x 7/8 x 1/2 in. (9.6 x 2.3 x 1.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.544E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.544E_view1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall,
CUR.37.544E_view1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2014
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
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