Maat prize

Statues of the goddess Maat were presented to prominent museologists and curators during the centenary celebrations of the Egyptian Museum.

Mahmoud Mabrouk, the sculptor who has participated in major restoration projects including the Sphinx restoration project, was charged with designing the awards. The bronze statues are a fusion of modern and Pharaonic art.

"Designing a piece to honour people for whom every piece of art has a special significance is very difficult," said Mabrouk. The artist incorporated various elements into the piece to signify the areas of expertise of the recipients. "I decided that Maat the Pharaonic goddess -- who represents the ideals of law, order, and truth -- was the ideal subject; appropriate and attractive."

In ancient times, he said, "the goddess with a woman's face was depicted wearing a tall ostrich feather on her head, symbolising anything that is true, ordered or balanced. She was the female counterpart of Thoth. We know she is a very ancient goddess because we find her in the boat of Re as it rose above the waters of the abyss of Nu on the first day. Together with Thoth, they charted the daily course of the sun god Re. She is sometimes called the 'Eye of Re' or the 'Daughter of Re'."

Maat also plays an important part in the Book of the Dead. It is in the Hall of Maat that judgement of the dead was meted out. This was performed by weighing one's heart (conscience) against the feather of Maat. If a balance was struck, the deceased was deemed to be worthy of meeting Osiris in the afterlife. If the heart of the deceased was found to be heavier than the feather of Maat, it would be devoured by Ammut.

The presentation piece is 28-centimetres-high and 13-centimetres-wide, made of bronze with a silver feather.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 19 - 25 December 2002 (Issue No. 617)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/617/he2.htm