Lion-Headed Goddess Sekhmet

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Culture Egyptian

Title Lion-Headed Goddess Sekhmet

Date 664–525 BCE

Medium Faience

Dimensions Overall: 2 7/16 x 11/16 x 1 1/2 in. (6.2 x 1.7 x 3.8 cm)

Credit Line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas T. Solley, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 70.95.2

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About this Work

Sekhmet in typically portrayed as a lion-headed woman, sometimes with a sun disk on her head. The word Sekhmet literally means “The Powerful One,” derived from the Egyptian word “Sekhem” (which means “power” or “might”). She was a goddess of war and the destroyer of the enemies of the sun god Re. She could cause but also cure diseases and plagues, and thus was the patron of physicians and healers.

Several powerful goddesses bore feline characteristics, such as Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess and Bastet, the cat-headed goddess.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Lion-Headed Goddess Sekhmet | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=70.95.2