Torso of the Goddess Sekhmet

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Torso of the Goddess Sekhmet

Place of OriginEgypt, possibly from the Temple of Mut at Karnak

Date18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE), about 1397-1360 BCE

DimensionsH: 23 in. (58.4 cm)

MediumGranodiorite.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Miss Edith Morgan

Object number

1927.152

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis granodiorite fragment preserves the head and upper torso of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. Her arms, broken at mid-point, once hung at her sides. The separately affixed solar disk is now missing, but its mortise hole is visible. She wears a broad wesekh collar and a decorative band beneath the breasts—a feature shared with 1927.153 but absent on 1927.154. The statue was likely seated and backed by a pillar, like its companions. Together with 1927.153 and the more complete 1927.154, this statue forms part of a coherent group of Sekhmet figures likely originating from the same ritual or architectural context, possibly the Temple of Mut at Karnak.

Label TextToledo's three monumental sculptures of Sekhmet (1927.152, 1927.153, and 1927.154) once stood among hundreds of similar statues at the Temple of Mut in Karnak, ancient Thebes. Commissioned by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1390–1352 BCE), the statues portrayed Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess feared for her destructive force and revered for her healing power. Carved from hard stone and originally positioned in symmetrical rows around a sacred lake, they served as votive offerings and ritual instruments. Most bore the king’s name, linking royal authority with divine protection. These three statues entered the Toledo Museum of Art in 1927 as a gift from Edith Pierrepont Morgan (1873–1951) of Aurora, New York. Though the circumstances of their acquisition remain uncertain, Edith’s brother, Frederick Grinnell Morgan (1866–1920), served as U.S. Vice Consul in Cairo in 1905. It is possible—though unconfirmed—that the statues came into the family's possession during that period.Published ReferencesBulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1919, Part II (gives full particulars on such statues).Comparative ReferencesSee also Simpson, William Kelly, "A Horus-of-Nekhen Statue of Amenhotep III from Soleb," Bulletin Museum of Fine Arts Boston, vol. 69, no. 358, 1971, p. 160 and note 14, p. 164.

cf. Lythgoe, A.M., "Statues of the Goddess Sekhmet," Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 14, no. 10, Oct. 1919, pt. 2, pp. 1-23.

cf. "Egyptian Antiquities," Bulletin Museum of Fine Arts Boston, vol. 1, no. 3, 1903, p. 17.

cf. Smith, WIlliam Stevenson, Ancient Egypt as represented in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 4th ed., Boston, 1960, p. 130, fig. 81.

cf. Fine antiquities including the Mrs. Albert D. Lasker Collection, London, Christies, Dec. 12, 1990, no. 230.