Aegis of Sakhmet or Bastet

Aegis of Sakhmet or Bastet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

An aegis is a collarlike necklace (often called a broad-collar) bearing a divine head as symbol of protection and fertility. The aegis was an element of a sacred menat necklace from at least the 18th dynasty. Heads of Lion- or cat-headed goddesses were most frequently depicted, but other goddesses and some gods might appear. Small faience examples like this one might serve as amulets.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Aegis of Sakhmet or BastetAegis of Sakhmet or BastetAegis of Sakhmet or BastetAegis of Sakhmet or BastetAegis of Sakhmet or Bastet

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.