Museum Pieces - Papyrus with a winged deity

Papyrus with a winged deity

The strange winged creature standing in front of the serpent in this scene represents several destructive forces, good and bad, inherent in various Egyptian gods. These powers were not normally represented in specific shapes; hence, the unusual being here, like the winged figure in the large stone relief also in this case, is not a single god but a representation of several abstractions. The god Bes was one of the deities associated with this composite being; as a guardian of women and children, he acquired the role of protector of the birth of kings and of the sun, which sprang forth anew each morning from the underworld, where it had been threatened by snakes during the night. The images of the child and the snake on the papyrus reflect these concepts.

Medium: Papyrus, ink
Possible Place Made: Heliopolis, Egypt
Dates: 7th - 4th century B.C.E.
Period: Late Period
Accession Number: 47.218.156a-d
Credit Line: Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
Rights Statement: No known copyright restrictions
Caption: Papyrus, 7th - 4th century B.C.E. Papyrus, ink, a: Glass: 7 1/2 x 26 3/8 in. (19 x 67 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.156a-d
Image: detail, 47.218.156a-c_detail_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Catalogue Description: Hieratic script

Source:

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/60794/Papyrus