AN EGYPTIAN GOLD-INLAID BRONZE AMUN

According to D. Silverman, "Egyptian metalwork was often quite colourful, with precious and cupreous metals, sometimes artificially patinated, used in combination and embellished with stone, glass and faience inlays. In terms of bronze statuary, this tendency was indulged on the grandest scale during the Third Intermediate Period..."(M. Hill, ed., Gifts for the Gods, Images from Egyptian Temples, p. 86). This example gives the modern viewer a tantalizing glimpse into what polychromatic Egyptian bronzes looked like in antiquity. For a related Amun, see no. 172 in W. Grenwenig and W. Seipel, Götter, Menschen, Pharaonen.