Head of a God

This beautifully carved head comes from a nearly life-sized statue of a god. The image was one of a series of such deities, both male and female, that presided over the forty-two administrative districts, or nomes, into which ancient Egypt was divided.

In characteristic fashion, the subject wears a plaited beard and a striated wig, both indications of divinity. The absence of a uraeus, or sacred cobra, on the forehead reveals that the figure was not a king. As with most Egyptian deities, the subject's features, which are rendered in human form, are idealized. The large, splayed ears are particularly characteristic of sculpture of the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.). The carving style and the fine white limestone strongly suggest that the sculpture came originally from the pyramid complex of Pharaoh Amenemhet III at Hawara in Middle Egypt.