Figure of Shu
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). Like most amulets of Shu, this example shows the god kneeling with his arms upraised. The gesture symbolizes Shu's eternal role as the god who separates the deities Nut (sky) and Geb (earth). Caption: Figure of Shu, ca. 1070.–653 B.C.E.. Faience, 1 3/4 × 7/8 × 3/4 in. (4.5 × 2.2 × 1.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.954E. (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 turquoise faience amulet depicting a figure kneeling with arms raised.
The artifact is a faience amulet with a turquoise glaze, representing a kneeling figure with their arms raised above their head. The style is typical of Egyptian amulets made to convey protection or invoke the presence of deities. The workmanship is simplified, characteristic of mass-produced protective objects. Notable features include the figure's posture and headwear, possibly representing an aspect of divinity.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 37.954E tier-2
- BKM-Object 117533 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.