Nefertum

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The god Nefertum was born out of a lotus flower on the mound of creation; thus he was closely connected with the sun, creation, and with the lotus, but also, more broadly, sweet-smelling, pleasant things. Nefertum was the son of Ptah and of the lion-goddess Sakhmet, and is sometimes envisioned as the son of Bastet or certain other great female lion goddesses. He had a martial aspect, but also a protective one, mirroring some of the contrasting but complementary qualities of Sakhmet and Bastet. In later periods, his protective aspect expanded and he was a symbol of good fortune, which perhaps in part explains his prominent role as a subject for statuettes and amulets. In copper alloy statuettes, he is shown, almost without exception, as a beautiful man who wears a crown comprised of a lotus blossom framed by menat symbols and topped with two tall feathers; the menats derive from his association with feline goddesses. Behind the crown, Nefertum has a suspension loop at the base of the crown, a common feature on Nefertum statuettes whether large or small. Some comparable statuettes hold their hands at the side, while others, as here, hold a sickle-shaped object, probably an ostrich feather fan.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art