The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-19

Seven Colossal Statues of Lioness
Headed Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet
G411-1375 B. c. Are Included in
Museums Recent Accessions

harnesses of Francis 1. which have
come down to us. We are fortunate.
therefore, in being able to exhibit so
complete a panoply illustrating as Il
does the art of the armorer during
an excellent period"
A Goddess on the Docks.
The statues Of the goddess Sekhmet
which form the other rare exhibit
just presented to the public, spent
the greater part of the past five years
in patient waiting on the Liverpool
docks until the time should arrtye
when this mighty one" goddess Of
war and strife, might be safely
shipped to this country.
They are fashioned of diorite. some
times termed "black granite" and ara
Of varying height. Each represents
the goddess as seated upon a throne
with low rolling back, feet together.
hands resting upon the knees and
holding in her left hand the ankh sim
or symbol OF life. Although each Of
the statues bore originally upon It's
head the solar disk and uraus, thru,
have lost this, owing to the fact that
1t was made OF a separate piece and
attached by means of dovetailed
groove.
The figures are represented as half
nude; the lower part of the body being
| clothed In tight fitting garment. sup.
| ported by straps from the shoulders
These straps are ornamented with
large rosettes at the points where they
pass over the breasts. excepting in the
case of one statue, which was not fin
ished. The goddess wears a long wig,
arranged in separate strands and fall
ing upon the breasts on either side. a
broad collar about her neck, bracelets
and anklets.
The statues are gift to the mu.
scum from Henry Walters, second Vice
president, who secured them in Eng
land, where they arrived in the early
part of the last century as a result Of
commercial exploitation of Egyptian
ruins, which was carried ON exten-
sively at that period. For many years
they remained in the possession of the
late Lord Amherst Of Hackney, who
caused them to be installed in his
country seat, Didlington Hall, Norfolk
|
Unfortunately when the figures first
arrived in England an act of vandal-
ism was perpetrated upon the finest Of
the seven, which broke It in two 8,
the waist line. Because of their weight
it was feared that they would break
through the floor of the auction room
where they were offered for sale, Sc
the seven goddesses were placed TEN.
porarily on Waterloo Bridge. There II
was that the best preserved of then
was maliciously toppled over. The
crack that resulted is quite noticeable
Concerning their origin there !.
some room for conjecture, but Alber
NJ. Lythgoe, curator of Egyptian art
who writes of them for the museum
leans to the belief that the Temple O.
Nut at Karnak was their early home
He points out the fact that Amen
hotep III. was very partial to the god
dess with the lioness head and caused
according to computations, the install
lation of no less than SIG such figure
in the Temple of Nut. The same kin
also caused number of these figure
TO be Sc up in his mortuary temple a
Kurneh.
With the exception of the unfnlsha
statue, the two sides of the throne al
ornamented with design pvcuiial {
thrones of divinities and royal pes
sonages in Egyptian art. a lotds ao
the papyrus entwinted about the We
sign signifying ito unite sympu
the union of upper and lower EgtN
Additional inscriptions appear on r'.
tan of the statues.
OF the artistic merit of these fsnr
Mr.. Lythgoe comments, they oNhh
great vigor in their modelling, ,
composite nature of the suhjcct e.
fording the Egyptian sculptor III
play in his ability 10 render huma
and animal forms with equal pow
and truthfulness. AS Maspero Dr.
aptly expressed it, Never was the "a
ulty OF welding the members Of uifte
ent beings into single body carrie
further than in such creations,
The statues are all about seven q.
in height when complete and we.e
about two tons each. AS they stand IL
the Twelfth Egyptian Room Of th
museum. they are approximate .
their original distances apart, So ths
an impression may be gained Of th
appearance presented when they stoo
in the Temple OF Nut.