• Egypt, Late Period, 26th Dynasty (c. 664–525 BC)
  • Polychrome faience
  • Inv. 410A, 410B, 410C and 410D

Set of funerary statuettes

This set of flat figurines shows the sons of the god Horus (Imsety, Duamutef, Hapi and Kebehsenuef, the last of whom is not included in this group). These flat statuettes exhibit in general, three horizontal bands between the hair and body, which act as the starting point for two diagonal ribbons. His body is depicted in cursory fashion, with slightly protruding buttocks, and he is shown standing on a mat held by two black lines. The rear has three holes (at the head, abdomen and feet) so that the piece could be attached.

From the New Kingdom onwards, images of the four sons of Horus, sometimes called the funerary genii, were also sculpted on the lids of the canopic jars that held the respective viscera which these figures protected. The figures are paradigmatic of many sets of varying sizes and styles found in many public and private collections.

MacGregor Collection. Acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian through Howard Carter at the sale of the MacGregor Collection, Sotheby’s, London, June/July 1922.

H. 13–14 cm (each); W. 3.5 cm (each)

Araújo 2006

Luís Manuel de Araújo, Egyptian Art. Calouste Gulbenkian Collection. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2006, pp. 108–11, cats. 21–4.

Updated on 22 april 2022

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