God Horus Protecting King Nectanebo II

My favorite collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are, without doubt, the Greek and Roman collections, and the Egyptian collection. I like the rest of the collections just fine, but I would be just as happy if the museum were limited to the really old stuff.

One thing that's striking about both collections: the prevalence of birds in ancient culture. If you're wandering around the Met, take a look at some of the Greek red- and black-figure pottery - you'll see what I mean.

But of the ancient birds at the Met, this is my favorite, God Horus Protecting King Nectanebo II (360 - 343 BCE).


The lines on this sculpture are so clean and elegant. Horus's falcon traits are magnificent - he looks so regal.


The sculptor even captured the crossed flight feathers in the back.


Beautiful.

Another amazing image of Horus, this one from the Edfu Temple (taken by Olaf Tausch):