Artwork
The Goddess Nekhbet, Temple of Hatshepsut
The Goddess Nekhbet, Temple of Hatshepsut is an unspecified painting by Charles Wilkinson. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work depicts a stylized avian figure rendered in vivid hues, its expansive wings spread against a muted, sandy backdrop.
About this work
Overview
The work depicts a stylized avian figure rendered in vivid hues, its expansive wings spread against a muted, sandy backdrop. The bird’s plumage is divided into blocks of green, blue, red and white, while its torso is predominantly white marked by a green circular motif on the chest. A horizontal band of blue symbols crowns the composition, suggesting a celestial or symbolic element.
Subject & Meaning
The figure represents Nekhbet, the ancient Egyptian goddess associated with protection and the vulture or eagle form that guarded the pharaohs. By portraying her in flight, the artist emphasizes her role as a guardian overseeing the realm, a visual echo of the deity’s mythological function as a watchful protector.
Technique & Style
Executed in a modern painting technique, the piece employs flat, saturated color fields and simplified outlines reminiscent of ancient Egyptian wall reliefs. The composition balances decorative patterning—particularly the blue band of symbols—with a minimalist representation of the bird, merging contemporary abstraction with historic iconography.
History & Provenance
The image is derived from a wall scene in the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most renowned female pharaohs. While the original relief dates to the 15th century BCE, this contemporary interpretation translates the ancient motif onto canvas, preserving the visual language of the temple while situating it within a modern artistic context.
Artist & collection
Artist
Egyptian artists carved lively scenes on tomb walls to keep the dead company. Wilkinson’s bundle offers five such reliefs, from a falcon guarding a pharaoh to wine presses and chariots left behind for the next world.…
Royal Cartouche of Queen Makare Hatshepsut
Facsimile of a falcon protecting the king
Anubis Weighing the Heart, Tomb of Nakhtamun
Fishing and Fowling, Tomb of Ipuy
Statue of Deified Amenhotep I
Detail of a Griffin, Tomb of Khety
Netting Birds, Tomb of Khnumhotep
Amada Nubia
Ramesses III and Prince Amenherkhepeshef before Hathor
Plates Illustrative Of The Researches And Operations Of G. Belzoni In Egypt And Nubia
Dragging a Statue of Thutmose I
Head of Queen Aahmes Nefertari: copy of a painted low relief in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir al-Bahri