Faience Statuette of a Nude Female Holding Monkeys in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2026

Title: Nude female holding monkeys

Period: Third Intermediate Period

Date: ca. 1070–664 BCE

Medium: Pale blue faience

Dimensions: H. 20.7 × W. 8 × D. 3.3 cm (8 1/8 × 3 1/8 × 1 5/16 in.)

Credit Line: Purchase, Fletcher Fund and The Guide Foundation Inc. Gift, 1966

Object No.: 66.99.71


Small artworks from around 1000 to 300 BCE frequently allude to "the return of the Faraway Goddess." According to the tale, the Eye of Re—a lion-headed daughter of the sun god—withdrew in anger from Egypt to Nubia, upsetting Re and causing dire consequences for Egypt. In different versions, various deities lure the powerful goddess back to the valley with music, restoring the world to maat (rightness). Bastet is often the protagonist, so cats and kittens figure prominently in these artworks.

See also: Figurine of a monkey and man playing instruments
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1944 (44.4.17)

Rattle with a Bes-image deity holding a baby and surrounded by monkeys
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, 2007 Benefit Fund, Lila Acheson Wallace and Diane Carol Brandt Gifts, 2015 (2015.11)

Ring with a cat and kittens
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Patricia A. Cotti and Friends of Egyptian Art Gifts, 2017 (2017.34)

Figurine of a cat with kittens
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1945 (45.2.2)


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/divine-egypt/exhibition-objects