Maat, goddess of justice. Height: 11 cm

Description

Figure made of reconstituted marble (resin + marble powder). Finished in black. Aging patinas.

Height: 11 cm.

Approx. weight: 0,5 kg.

Reproduction of archaeological models from museums around the world. Decorative element of great beauty that evokes ancient cultures.

Egypt. Late Period. Between 1085 and 332 BC. Original copper-coloured metal. Louvre Museum. Paris.

Maat was the Egyptian goddess of righteousness, truth and justice. Her symbol was a blue ostrich feather. This feather, which adorns her head, served as a counterweight on one of the plates of the scales used during the ‘judgement of the dead’, which was carried out by the court presided over by the god Osiris. On the other plate was placed the heart of the deceased, which represented his deeds during his lifetime. If the heart was as light as the feather, then the one being judged was ready to pass the tests that would take him to the Amenti (Land of Amun). If the heart was heavier than the feather, he would have to return to Earth and continue the cycle of incarnations until his actions were pure and free from all evil.

The goddess Maat personified order, a fundamental idea in the Egyptian worldview. And in this sense she represented one of the main responsibilities of the Egyptian monarch: the re-establishment and maintenance of the original order and security of the cosmos; thus the goddess is often depicted in scenes in which the king presents a statuette of Maat as a symbolic offering to the gods. On the other hand, she was closely associated with the ideas of truth and justice, so that judges, in the performance of their duties, were seen as priests of Maat.