Statue of Harwa holding two figures of goddesses

From Egypt
25th Dynasty, around 710 BC

This statue is one of several of Harwa, 'steward of the divine votaress', now in various museum collections. Harwa is usually shown as being slightly overweight, a device intended to indicate his prosperity. His head is unusually long and flat, with a very low forehead. This is another typical feature of his statues. His pose is quite unusual. It seems to be a combination of a block statue and a naophorous statue, both of which were popular at the time.

Harwa squats with his back against a stela. He holds the figures of two goddesses before him, perhaps in a gesture of offering or protection. The goddesses are also shown squatting, a pose which recalls the hieroglyphic symbol for 'goddess'. They wear head dresses composed of cow's horns and a sun disc, often associated with the goddess Hathor. The figure on the right also wears a double plume. Between them, inscribed on Harwa's chest, is the cartouche of the high priestess Amenirdis, daughter of King Piye (about 747-716 BC). This perhaps suggests that the figures are of Amenirdis in the form of Hathor and another goddess.

W. Seipel, Gott-Mensch-Pharao (Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum, 1992)

B. Gunn and R. Engelbach, 'The statues of Harwa', Bulletin de lInstitut França-1, 30 (1931), pp. 792-93, 801

F. Tiradritti, Il Cammino di Harwa, Luomo di (Milan, 1999)

S. Quirke, Who were the Pharaohs? (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)