This is a photograph of the sculpture in its entirety.
I wrote this essay on a sculpture of Sekhmet for my Art Heritage class. The sculpture would have originally been lined up along an avenue with others much like it. Though it largely relates to the artisitc traits of the particular piece of sculpture, there is some information on Sekhmet as an Egyptian mythological figure. I personally prefer the spelling "Sekhmet" over "Sakhmet," but I went by the spelling used on the tag at the Museum. If you are ever in Philadelphia, I would recommend visiting the University of Pennsylvania's museum because they have a lovely collection of Egyptian art (as well as other art from the ancient world).
The sculpture of the Goddess Sakhmet is a beautiful piece that is also a prime example of many Egyptian artistic traits. The lioness-headed Deity is portrayed in a rather stiff posture. She sits upright with Her back straight, hands placed on Her lap, feet facing foreword, and She stares directly ahead. On Her head sits a solar disc and uraeus, a cobra, and She holds an ankh in her left clenched hand. She is shown wearing a tight-fitting garment that descends to her ankles, a broad beaded collar, and a classic Egyptian wig. Sakhmet is a Goddess of power and destruction who was once charged by the sun God Re to devour humankind. Therefore, Her depiction in this sculpture suits the nature She was believed to possess since this sculpture is certainly intimidating.
In the mythic days of Egyptian history, Re Himself ruled as pharaoh for a time, and as He ruled for many years in human form, He, like humans, began to age. The people of Egypt commented on his frailty, noticed his weakening body, and some of them began to plot against Him, thinking Him no longer fit to rule in such a vulernable state. Egypt's people became corrupt with scheming, and although the people thought Re old and senile, He could not help but notice how fiendlike and greedy His people had become. Mournfully, Re decided that action had to be taken, and so He created the Goddess Sekhmet to destroy humanity. The Goddess took the form of a huge lioness and did as She was created to do. Sekhmet's bloodlust grew as She ravanged the country, devouring those who had evil intentions, Her desire for destruction growing even beyond Re's imaginings. In Her fury, She began devouring even those who were not corrupt. Re saw this and felt sorry for humanity, determined that the destruction must now come to a halt, but Re Himself was not powerful enough to stop by force what He had created. And so He devised a clever trick: He had seven thousand barrels of beer dyed the color of blood and drained on a field for Sekhmet to see. Drawn to the expanse of of blood, Sekhmet came and drank all of it from the land, leaving Her drunk and satiated. It was then that Re transformed Her into the Goddess Het-heru/Hathor, a Deity of love, merriment, joy, and sexuality.
She was primarily worshipped in the Egyptian city of Memphis along with Her consort, the God Ptah. Sekhmet's destructive capabilities are balanced out by Ptah's creative ones. She was commonly associated with both sickness and healing, protection, and ferocity in battle.
This piece of art illustrates the use of attributes, which are symbols and objects associated with a figure that serve to identify it without the use of words. The most obvious attribute in this sculpture is the lioness head. In Egyptian mythology, one of the most prominent Goddesses with a connection to lionesses is Sakhmet (although other Goddesses also have this association including Mut, Bast, and Wadjet). Another identifying attribute is the solar disc. Sakhmet has been described as a very solar Deity, and has a direct connection to the sun God Re as His daughter and as the personification of His eye.
This work of art includes another common element in Egyptian art known as abstraction. For example, the fur of Her mane has been simplified into a repeating pattern that is very reminiscent of how the petals of a lotus flower are commonly shown. The area on Her muzzle where the whiskers on an actual lioness would emerge has been abstracted into a series of parallel lines. Sakhmet's ears have also been abstracted into basic shapes and parallel lines to indicate fur.
The use of abstraction, a distinct posture, and attributes are but a few of the traits exhibited by the sculpture of Sakhmet which are common to Egyptian art in general.
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