Tefnut as a Lioness
Description
Object Label: The Egyptians represented the relationship between sky and earth by showing the body of Nut rising in a majestic arc over the figure of the dark, fecund earth god, Geb. To prevent them from further sexual union after the birth of Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys, they were separated eternally by Shu, the god of air. Shu represented the eternal patterns of change the ancient Egyptians associated with cyclical time (neheh). His sister, the leonine goddess Tefnut, was related to the eternal sameness of linear time (djet). Tefnut, shown here as a lioness, had many different aspects. Among her most significant was the "Eye of Re" an aspect of the sun that could be either beneficial or damaging. Caption: Tefnut as a Lioness, ca. 664–332 B.C.E.. Faience, 13/16 x 5/8 x 1 9/16 in. (2 x 1.6 x 3.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.364. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A small faience amulet in the shape of a reclining lion.
This artifact is a small amulet composed of faience, depicting a reclining lion with stylized features. The lion is crafted with an emphasis on smooth, flowing lines typical of Egyptian amulet design. The object is mostly intact, showcasing the typical greenish-blue glaze characteristic of faience. Such amulets were often used for protection or as symbols of power and might have been worn or carried as jewelry.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 05.364 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3217 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.