This statue depicts King Ramesses II sitting beside Sekhmet, the fierce goddess whose very name means “the Powerful”. She was a daughter and protector of the sun god Ra. She is depicted in her most common form, as a woman with the head of a lioness with the sun disk and protective uraeus cobra on her head. She is holding the ankh hieroglyph, symbol of life, in her left hand. Interestingly, like her, Ramesses II’s head is surmounted by the sun disk and uraeus too, which is not a common for kings.
Date: New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, Ramesses II (c.1279–1213 BC)
Medium: Red granite
Provenance: Buto
