Necklace Counterpoise (Menat)

Decorative counterpoise (menat). Originally suspended from a necklace by the ring at the top that is now broken. Openwork design with chased details on flat bronze. Representation of a lion goddess's head in profile (Sekhmet or Bastet) with the body being depicted as a shrine, inside which stands a full-length figure of the lion-heded goddess who wears a sun-disc on her head, that would suggest the image is Sekhmet. The roundel below has traditional block border and contains five papyrus plants. Two papyrus plants reach out from above the roundel and touch the sides of the shrine. In places there are signs of the original polychrome appearance of the metal. Late 18th Dynasty.