She reaches toward the heavens with graceful, sweeping, crescent arms.

The hook-shaped hands of this goddess from early Egypt (a people who called themselves the Kemi) symbolize regeneration, an evocative image of the life-death-life principle of reincarnation.

The Mother Goddess in late Neolithic times was equated with bird and animal life; her birdlike head is suggestive of later death-bringing vulture goddesses such as Neith and Mut. (The Kemian word mother, in fact, was depicted by the vulture hieroglyph.) Here in one evocative image of life-death-life is shown the core of Kemian wisdom, the principle of reincarnation.

[Brooklyn Museum, predynastic era]

10"" resin statue, brown/gray river stone color finish.