Ancient Egyptian Sekhmet-Hathor amulet

Bright blue glazed amulet of the Goddess Sekhmet-Hathor.

Standing in striding position, holding a sceptre in left hand and right hand aside the body.

Wearing the Hathor crown with sun-disk, cow horns and feathers.

Very rare to find and especially in this high quality.

Egyptian religion embraced gods with dual or multiple aspects, Sekhmet embodies both destruction and healing, while Hathor spans nurturing joy and fierce protection.

Their relationship highlights this spiritual complexity.

These deities were central pillars of ancient Egyptian theology and daily life.

Sekhmet offered strength and healing, while Hathor brought joy and love, with occasional overlap when balance needed restoration.

In the astronomical ceiling of Pharaoh Seti I’s tomb (KV17), Sekhmet appears with the cow-horned solar disk crown of Hathor.

This blend signals her alignment with cosmic and calendrical symbolism likely tied to the Sun and seasonal celestial events.

  • Faience

    Very good condition

    Repaired above Sceptre and both arms.

  • 4,9 cm

    3rd Intermediate period

    21st - 22nd dynasty

    1085 - 713 B.C.

  • German Coll. T.W. 2000

    BB-Antiken before 2000

    Dutch private collection before 1983

  • € 3.250,—

The Hathorian crown; cow horns with a sun disk and sometimes feathers, was used to indicate feminine divine power.

Sekhmet with this crown emphasizes her role as the solar Eye, a protective yet fearsome force.

“Book of the Divine Cow”

  • In this myth, Ra sends Hathor in her wrathful form, as Sekhmet, to punish humankind. She slaughters until Ra calms her with red beer, turning her back into peaceful Hathor.

    The crown represents both her fierce and loving phases.

    Visual & Literary Significance

  • Iconographic Choices: Lioness head + Hathor’s sun disk and horns signals the merging of destructive and nurturing attributes—fierce warrior and cosmic nurturer in one deity.

  • Cosmic Roles and Calendrics: Such artistic choices appear in sacred astronomy and burial art, linking Sekhmet-Hathor to solar cycles, calendrical events, and dynastic symbolism.

  • Theological Duality: This union reflects Egyptian theology’s embrace of dual nature—life/death, wrath/mercy, destruction/healing—embodied in a single divine presence.

In Seti I’s tomb, KV17, the astronomical ceiling includes a figure identified as Sekhmet donning the classic Hathor crown—cow horns encircling a sun disk.

This is exceptional: Sekhmet normally wears only the solar disk with a uraeus, while the horned disk is traditional for Hathor.