Although not inscribed, the iconography of
our
statuette is sufficiently complete to insure its
identification as a representation of Horus the
Child. He is depicted as a nude, husky child
with
a decidedly corpulent body. His attitude is
that
of the canonical, Egyptian striding male figure
with his left foot advanced on a rectangular
base.
His left arm is held down alongside his body
and
its fisted hand may have originally held a
ceremonial staff. His right arm is bent at the
elbow and raised so that its extended index
finger is placed near the mouth. This hand-
gesture habitually denotes children in ancient
Egyptian art, but was mistakenly interpreted
by
the Greek and Romans who maintained that
the
gesture of the index finger to the lips was one
of
silence, indicating that Harpocrates would not
reveal hidden wisdom to outsiders. Our child
god’s only attribute is the Double Crown
which is
fronted by a uraeus, or sacred cobra.
Harpocrates wears the Double Crown as an
emblem of his role in Egyptian mythology. As
the son who avenged the death of his father,
Osiris, at the hands of Seth, Horus the Child
was
regarded as the legitimate successor of his
father. Consequently, each deceased
pharaoh
was identified as Osiris, and each successor
with
Horus. The Double Crown is, therefore, to be
regarded as the emblem of legitimate
kingship in
this particular context.
On the basis of parallels, one can date our
Harpocrates to the Late Period. At that time
such
statuettes were dedicated by pious pilgrims
at
various sanctuaries throughout the land in
order
to secure the deity’s blessings. (X.0302)
References:
Jean-Claude Grenier, Les bronzes du Museo
Gregoriano Egizio (Vatican City 2002), page
29,
catalogue number 29 [inventory number
18576],
for a very close parallel which even exhibits
the
same surface as our example.
