|
Late Dynastic Period, Dynasty XXVI Painted plaster Original of graywacke sandstone Taweret ("the great one") was the feared and beloved goddess of
fertility and childbirth. She is depicted in composite form, many as a
hippopotamus, but with breasts, rotund tummy, lion’s legs, a long crocodile skin
ending in a tail down the back and human arms with forepaws that rest on an Isis knot,
symbol for protection, at her sides. The statue was found in an enclosed shrine north of the temple of Amun-R� at Karnak in 1874. The enchanting work is in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. |
