Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 870 – 825 BCE
Statue of Karomama, God’s Wife of Amun
Twenty-second Dynasty; the exact date depends on who she was.
- Material
- Bronze inlaid with gold, silver and electrum
- Dimensions
- Height c. 59 cm
- Findspot
- Karnak, Thebes (according to available sources)
- Discovery
- Acquired by Jean-François Champollion in 1829 during his journey to Egypt.
- Held by
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Inventory number
- N 500
A bronze statue of a standing woman whose hands once held now-lost sistra; her dress is inlaid with feather patterns in gold and silver.
It shows the mastery of bronze casting and inlay that reached a high point in this period.
Certainty: Established
Champollion acquired the statue in 1829; it is now in the Louvre as N 500.
- Musée du Louvre, Paris “Karomama sous la plume de Jean-François Champollion — Musée du Louvre” louvre.fr
Certainty: Probable
In this period "God’s Wife of Amun" was an important religious and political office at Thebes, held by unmarried princesses of the ruling house.
Scholarly note: The office changed over time and became a way for kings to secure their hold on Thebes.
- K. A. Kitchen (1986) “The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 BC), 2nd edition” Aris & Phillips, Warminster
- Ian Shaw (ed.) (2000) “The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt” Oxford University Press