Statue

A black granite statue of the lioness headed goddess Sakhmet, who was associated with both warfare and healing. She formed part of the Memphite triad as consort to Ptah and mother of Nefertem. She was also associated with the goddess Mut, consort to Amun at Thebes. During the 18th Dynasty Amenhotep III set up hundreds of statues of Sakhmet in the Temple of Mut within the precinct at Karnak.
On the back pillar of this statue can be seen the name of Giovanni Belzoni carved into the stone, a former circus strongman who collected Egyptian antiquities on behalf of foreign Consuls in the early Nineteenth century.