Cow plaque

Cow plaque

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This metal plaque depicts a cow with a sundisk between its horns, which is a common representation of the goddess Hathor. From the cow's neck hangs a lotos flower. The piece was excavated at Deir el-Bahari, close to a shrine for this goddess. Most likely the plaque had been deposited at this shrine, as a donation to the deity. Two holes at the top were probably used for stringing it together with a series of similar small pieces.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.