Head of the God Bes
unknown (Egyptian (ancient))
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Alternate file
Alternative Title
Column Capital of the God Bes
Date
-332--30Description
Overall view, left profile, showing "leonine" ear; This large head unmistakably depicts the god known as Bes, or, more accurately, what is known as a "Bes-image," since Bes's appearance was sometimes adopted for other gods, and there is no name preserved on the statue. From the Kushite Period onward, images of Bes appeared on architectural support elements, especially associated with mammisis, or temples celebrating the birth of a child-god. Another possibility is that the head originally belonged to a freestanding statue. This head is said to have come from the site of Bubastis (Tell Basta) in the Eastern Egyptian Delta. If so, a date to the reign of Nectanebo II (ruled in 360-342 BCE), who built extensively at Bubastis would be a reasonable suggestion. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art [website]; http://www.metmuseum.org (accessed 5/6/2014)
Type of Work
capital (column component); sculpture (visual work)Subject
architecture, deities, Egypt--Religion, Ptolemaic
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only