- Egyptian heart scarab / circa 1400 BC
- Isis suckling the infant Horus / circa 600 BC
- Imhotep / circa 600 BC
- Amon-Re / circa 650 BC
- Baboon of Thoth / circa AD 100
Isis suckling the infant Horus
Late Period (26th Dynasty), circa 600 BC
Bronze
Height: 21.5 cm
Isis was always a goddess of great importance in Egypt, and during the later periods of pharaonic rule she became especially so. Under the Romans, her cult spread throughout the empire; she came to be regarded as the most important goddess of all and is seen by some as a natural prototype for the Christan image of the Madonna and Child. Isis represented in particular the wifely and motherly virtues that the Egyptians held dear; as the mother of Horus, she was also the mother of Pharaoh, and therefore the guarantor of the royal succession. This fine-quality image of Isis suckling Horus, cast by the lost-wax method, was perhaps intended for dedication at a shrine of the goddess by a pilgrim who hoped, by his gift, to secure divine favour-here, perhaps, in view of the goddess's maternal associations, in anticipation of, or thanks for, a painless birth.
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