Scholarworks @ Morehead State

Title

Head of the Goddess Mut

Authors

Morehead State University. Camden-Carroll Library.

Description

Plaster cast of an incomplete statue found at the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt. Original is housed in the Cairo Museum, circa 1550-1292 BCE (XVIII Dynasty).

Publication Date

1978

Type of Artwork

Statue

Time Period/Geographical Region

Ancient Egypt

Height (cm/in)

91.44 cm / 36 in

Width (cm/in)

53.34 cm / 21 in

Depth (cm/in)

35.56 cm / 14 in

Disciplines

Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Sculpture

Comments

This cast was made from a sculpture fragment found at the Karnak temple complex. The original stone sculpture was first identified simply as "a queen." From 1998–1999, Armenian archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian completed conservation and reassembly of the sculpture at the Cairo Museum, which she classified as the goddess Mut. The monumental statue of Mut was depicted seated on a throne alongside the god Amun in a pairing known as a 'dyad.' The statues were located in a temple dedicated to Amun at the sacred site of Karnak. Mut, which means "mother" in the ancient Egyptian language, was a primal and powerful goddess. She was often depicted wearing a vulture headdress along with the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. On our cast, you can see a scalloped design in the headdress that may have represented the feathers of the vulture.

Recommended Citation

Morehead State University. Camden-Carroll Library., "Head of the Goddess Mut" (1978). Metropolitan Museum of Art Cast Collection. 19.
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/metropolitan_art_collection/19

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