The Sky Goddess Nut
Artwork
Medium:
Modern Copy on Papyrus
Date:
2003
Dimensions:
Artworks -
Height: 24 in
Width: 34.5 in
Description:
Color print of a blue, somewhat abstract piece containing the images of stars and orange lines.
Historical Context:
This image can be found on the ceiling of the Sarcophagus Hall in the Tomb of Rameses VI, a famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. The image is based on depictions from the "Book of Day" and the "Book of Night", two installments of the Egyptian "Book of the Heavens," a mythical bible. The path of the sky is represented as passing along the body of the Sky Goddess Nut arching her head and torso over the earth. At dawn, Nut gives birth to the sun which emerges proceeds westward along her body until she swallows the heavenly body at sunset. During the night, the consumed sun moves within Nut only to emerge, reborn, at dawn.