Ca. 664-332 BC. Late Period. A statuette of Sekhmet in pale blue-glazed faience. The goddess is shown enthroned, seated upon an undecorated block throne, with her hands on her knees. Her head is that of a lion with a tripartite wig and a sun disc above. A thin back panel rises up from the throne behind her. Her body is clothed in a long form-fitting dress. Sekhmet was the goddess of wrath, warfare, and plague, but despite these unfavourable attributes she was widely worshipped to stave off the ferocious forces which she ruled. She was most commonly invoked in healing practices, as it was hoped she might avert plague and sickness. A statuette like this one might have been kept in the home to prevent illness, or it might have been given as a votive offering to a shrine or temple to seek the goddess' favour and support. Size: L:67mm / W:34mm ; 30g. From a London private family collection; formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1960s - 1970s; thence by descent.