Relief with Arsinoe II Ptolemaic, about 180 BC Limestone
Photograph taken April 2018 while on temporary exhibit “Beyond the Nile” at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA.
From label: Arsinoe II reigned as queen with her brother- husband Ptolemy II (ruled 285-246 bc). They were worshipped as the Theoi Adelphoi (Sibling Gods), and after her death in 270 bc the king instituted a special cult for her throughout Egypt. In this relief from a temple probably in Memphis, she wears an elaborate crown that was created specifically for her and adopted by later Ptolemaic queens. The hieroglyphic inscriptions, “Arsinoe, daughter of Amun” and “beloved of the gods,” suggest that this is a posthumous image. Harvard Art Museums, Arthur M Sackler Museum, Cambridge. Accession No.: 1983.96 EX.2018.4.139
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