Lion-headed Goddess with Sun Disk
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Caption
Lion-headed Goddess with Sun Disk, 332–30 B.C.E.. Gold, 15/16 x 13/16 x 1/4 in. (2.4 x 2.1 x 0.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.322. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.322_PS9.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Lion-headed Goddess with Sun Disk
Date
332–30 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 26
Period
Ptolemaic Period
Geography
Reportedly from: Zagazig (Bubastis), Egypt
Medium
Gold
Classification
Dimensions
15/16 x 13/16 x 1/4 in. (2.4 x 2.1 x 0.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
Accession Number
16.322
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
The label says that this is a "lion-headed goddess with Sun Disk." What exactly is a 'sun disk?'
Good question! A 'sun disk' is simply a circle that is understood to represent the sun and all that the sun itself is associated with. The sun was the most important symbol in Ancient Egyptian beliefs. It's associated with Re, the sun god, and with the daily renewal of life. The red or orange circular image above figures heads represents the sun. There were a multitude of gods associated with the sun and Re was one of the most powerful deities in the Egyptian pantheon.
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