Collection
/
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Leonine Goddess

770–412 B.C.E.

1 of 6

Caption

Leonine Goddess, 770–412 B.C.E.. Wood, gold leaf, plaster, linen, bronze, animal remains, 16 3/4 x 5 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (42.5 x 13 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1379E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1379E_threequarter_PS6.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Leonine Goddess

Date

770–412 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 22 to Dynasty 27

Period

Third Intermediate Period to Late Period

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Wood, gold leaf, plaster, linen, bronze, animal remains

Classification

Remains, Animal

Dimensions

16 3/4 x 5 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (42.5 x 13 x 16.5 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.1379E

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Could you tell me why this sculpture has not been on display for about 80 years? Anything special about this one?

    The piece wasn't displayed for so long because it was in very poor condition and needed conservation work that the curators had to save up for. It is also interesting because it originally held a cat mummy but is in a different shape. And, the fact that it is wood (which was rare in Ancient Egypt) makes it valuable as well. It is amazing that wood pieces like this and some of the mummy boards you see throughout the galleries survived since they are so much more perishable than stone.
    Totally agreed, thanks. Also, please send the highest respect to the people who fixed this piece. They have done an outstanding job!
    I will! We have a whole in-house conservation department that is amazing with specialists in everything from just paper or just paintings to stone and enamels, which makes us very lucky as a museum.

  • What was the significance of this crouching pose?

    You may have read about it on the label but it was unusual to see a 3D mummified figure sitting this way and here, it may connect the goddess with the Netherworld.
    Kneeling was regularly seen, as a pose of worship and giving offering and was placed in temples. But this figure is crouching more than kneeling, and seems to be holding something in its hands. The crouching stance is well known in 2-dimensional representations. Also the cat-like figure is meant to look mummified.
    Egyptian art was about communication, and as such was standardized so it could be as clear as possible. We very rarely see a break in standard poses, or actions or ways of depicting a figure. So when we do it's unusual. The label offers some thoughts as to what this pose may mean however.
    Thank you so much for your help!

Have information?

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bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.