Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A lovely and petite amulet depicting Sekhmet, the lioness-headed goddess of war, military strategy, and healing. Hand-carved from mottled cobalt blue lapis lazuli with burnt ochre, khaki, and dark brown inclusions, the leonine deity presents in a seated pose atop an integral plinth while holding one arm to her bosom and the other against her side. Each lateral side of the throne bears an incised image of 2 Was scepters and an ankh which suggest power, dominion, and control over life. She wears an ankle-length skirt beneath a headdress with lengthy lappets, and an integral suspension loop is situated behind her head. Her protruding countenance exhibits a pair of miniscule eyes beneath thick brows, a narrow snout with delineated jowls, and a narrow nose, all beneath a pair of tab-shaped ears that flank a central cavity meant for attaching a separate headdress like a sun disc. Size: 0.9" L x 0.56" W x 1.37" H (2.3 cm x 1.4 cm x 3.5 cm)

Sekhmet (also Sakhmet), among the oldest deities in the Egyptian pantheon, is typically depicted as a lion-headed woman and sometimes wearing a sun disc on her head. When shown sitting, she usually holds an ankh of life or a rattle-like instrument known as a sistrum - this example shows her not holding anything; when standing, she wields a sceptre formed from papyrus, the symbol of Lower Egypt, the area with which she is most often associated. Her name comes from the Egyptian word "Sekhem" which translates to "power" or "might" - indeed "Sekhmet" is sometimes translated as "Powerful One" or "She who is Powerful." Sekhmet is also mentioned in several spells of The Book of the Dead (or the Book of Going Forth by Day), discussed as both a creative and destructive force, but above all, the guardian of Ma'at (balance, truth, or justice) who defies evil.

Cf. a stylistically similar faience example of Sekhmet holding a sistrum in Arnold, Dorothea. "An Egyptian Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 1995, Vol. LII, no. 4, p. 18, fig. 14.

Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, bestowed 2006; ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, acquired before 2006; ex-Hesperia Auction, New York, USA, November 27, 1990, Lot 60, #36

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#170612

Loss to attached element atop head as shown. Minor abrasions to figure and throne, with softening to some incised details on lateral sides of throne, otherwise intact and excellent. Great surface smoothness and preservation to finer details. Petite hole drilled through base for mounting on old display stand.