Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
360 – 343 BCE
Horus Protecting Nectanebo II
Thirtieth Dynasty, reign of Nectanebo II.
- Material
- Meta-greywacke
- Dimensions
- Height c. 72 cm
- Findspot
- Said to come from the Memphite region, possibly Heliopolis
- Discovery
- Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1934; its exact find context is unknown.
- Held by
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Inventory number
- 34.2.1
A large falcon representing the god Horus, with King Nectanebo II standing small before it, as if the god shields him with his body.
The museum suggests the whole composition is a rebus of the king’s Egyptian name, Nakht-Hor-heb.
Certainty: Probable
The Metropolitan Museum suggests the statue is a rebus of the king’s name, Nakht-Hor-heb.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York “Statue of Horus as a falcon protecting King Nectanebo II, 34.2.1” metmuseum.org
Certainty: Uncertain
The base names not Horus but Nectanebo and the god Osiris-Mnevis, so the statue may have stood in the Mnevis bull’s sanctuary at Heliopolis.
Scholarly note: This is inferred from the base inscription, since the statue’s findspot is not documented.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York “Statue of Horus as a falcon protecting King Nectanebo II, 34.2.1” metmuseum.org