Caption

Bes, Bes mythology. Bes naked, standing on a high base, leaning against a pillar. The head is topped with a low crown with four feathers in the shape of triangles widening upwards. The large head and wide face connect directly with the body. The eyes form two depressions occupying a significant part of the face; the nose is wide at the base and widens downwards. The mouth is narrow. On both sides of the face, arched incisions run from the corners of the eyes to the mouth. The body is disproportionately short with a marked navel and a narrow loincloth. The left hand rests on the thigh; the right, very thin, lowered and bent at the elbow, holds a short knife at chest height. The legs are wide apart, excessively tall, thin, and bow-shaped. 3rd century, Edfu; sculpture; height 41.8 cm, width 18.7 cm., A roughly carved stone figure in shades of brown and dark gray stands against a pale gray background; the figure has a broad head with a flattened top, a pronounced brow, recessed eye areas, a wide nose with two visible openings, and a straight mouth, with stylized arms crossed over the chest and a squat torso leading to a rectangular base, the surface showing rough texture, weathered marks, and variations of darker and lighter brown tones.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A03_297

License type

Rights managed

Available size

60.2Mb (4.0Mb) / 12.5in x 18.7in / 3744 x 5616 (300dpi)

Keywords

Bes Bes mythology Bes naked standing high base leaning pillar head topped low crown four feathers shape triangles widening upwards large head wide face connect directly body eyes form two depressions occupying significant part face nose wide base widens downwards mouth narrow sides arched incisions run corners disproportionately short marked navel narrow loincloth left hand rests thigh right thin lowered bent elbow holds short knife chest height legs wide apart excessively tall bow-shaped 3rd century Edfu sculpture height 41.8 cm width 18.7 cm roughly carved stone figure shades brown dark gray stands pale gray background figure broad head flattened top pronounced brow recessed eye areas wide nose two visible openings straight mouth stylized arms crossed chest squat torso leading rectangular base surface showing rough texture weathered marks variations darker lighter brown tones.