This wall relief, lovingly carved from limestone by artisans in Egypt, features a kneeling goddess Maat with her wings outstretched and crowned with the ostrich feather of truth. Invite Maat to grace your temple or ritual space with truth, balance, divine Read more.
This wall relief, lovingly carved from limestone by artisans in Egypt, features a kneeling goddess Maat with her wings outstretched and crowned with the ostrich feather of truth. Invite Maat to grace your temple or ritual space with truth, balance, divine order, and justice.
Maat represents the Egyptian ideal of truth, justice, divine order, morality, and balance. Unlike many other gods of Egypt, there are fewer temples to her as she is more of a concept to strive towards than she is an actual Goddess. The harmony and balance by which the Pharaohs of Egypt ruled were collectively referred to as “Maat,” a strong, guiding principle that must define the reign of a truly just king. The image of Maat is typically represented with the wings of the vulture and bears the ostrich feather of truth upon her headdress. She often holds an ankh—the Egyptian key of life—in one hand and a scepter in the other. As Maat represents order, “Isfet,” which represents chaos, injustice, and violence, is her stark opposite. The 42 Negative Confessions of Maat were important laws governing both the tangible and spiritual worlds that the people of Egypt were expected to follow. Upon being guided to the afterlife by the God Anubis, the heart of the Egyptian would be weighed against the feather of Maat’s crown. If their heart outweighed the feather, they were considered unfit for the afterlife and their soul devoured by the Goddess Ammit.
Materials: Limestone
Height: 12 inches
Width: 24 inches
Depth: 1 inches