Egyptian bronze figure depicting “Neith”, Late Period, 26th-30th dinasty, 1500-332 B.C.
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This bronze sculpture represents a female character in a walking attitude, with her left arm extended along the body and her right arm on her chest. She is dressed in a long, tight gown and wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt on her head.
It represents the Egyptian goddess Neith, one of the oldest and most complex deities of Ancient Egypt. Originally worshipped as a fierce goddess of hunting and war in the Nile Delta, her figure evolved to become the “Mother of the Gods,” a creative entity who, according to tradition, gave birth to the sun, Ra.
In archaeological representations, such as the one exhibited here, Neith usually wears the Red Crown, linking her directly to the city of Sais. Her role as the “inventor of weaving” gave her a vital function in the funerary sphere: she was responsible for providing the linen for the bandages of mummies, thus protecting the body of the deceased in its journey to the afterlife.
Because of her wisdom and antiquity, Neith often acted as an arbiter in disputes between the gods, maintaining the balance of the cosmos. Her multifaceted nature led the Greeks, centuries later, to identify her with the goddess Athena.
