Part from Shrine for a Divine Image

Part from Shrine for a Divine Image

The central panel here is inscribed for the Thirtieth Dynasty king Nectanebo II (reigned circa 360–342 B.C.). It comes from a shrine that presumably held a cult statue of the squatting goddess it depicts. Showing a figure in heavy, enveloping robes like this was a standard way of representing deities and symbolizing protection and the potential for life and regeneration. The resemblance to a wrapped mummy has led some Egyptologists to wonder: Is a mummy a body stylized into a divine image?
The side panels are probably from a different and earlier shrine.

This text refers to these objects: ' 37.260E; 37.258E; 37.259E

• Medium: Wood, glass
• Place Made: Abusir, Egypt
• Dates: ca. 664-342 B.C.E.
• Dynasty: XXVI Dynasty-XXX Dynasty
• Period: Late Period
  
  
  
  Brooklyn Museum
  
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