Figure of Bes with Child
1 of 5
Object Label
The dangers of childbirth could be reduced by having images of the god Bes in the tomb. Bes protected women during delivery and then assured the safety of newborn children. Images of Bes were often placed in tombs for both reasons. They ensured the deceased’s safety during rebirth into the next world, a main function of Egyptian tombs.
Bes had a lion’s head and mane and wore a feather headdress. The spots on this figurine suggest the leopard skin Bes sometimes wore.
Caption
Figure of Bes with Child, ca. 1075–656 B.C.E.. Faience, 7 1/2 x 2 7/8 x 5/8 in. (19.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.4_emagic.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Figure of Bes with Child
Date
ca. 1075–656 B.C.E.
Period
Third Intermediate Period
Geography
Place collected: Egypt
Medium
Faience
Classification
Dimensions
7 1/2 x 2 7/8 x 5/8 in. (19.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
08.480.4
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.
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