Statue of Princess Takushit

Graceful, commanding, and utterly unique, the statue of Takushit is a rare jewel of Late Period Egyptian bronze-casting.

Fashioned in the waning decades of the 25th Dynasty, around 670 B.C., this remarkable work was unearthed in 1880 on the hill of Kom-Toruga, near Lake Mariut in the fertile Delta region south of Alexandria. Made using the lost-wax method in hollow-cast copper alloy enriched with silver, the detailing of the statue would once have shimmered with both reverence and splendour in the reflection of light.

Now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (ΑΙΓ.110), it remains the only known representation of Takushit, a noblewoman of priestly office.

Takushit, “Wab Priestess”

Takushit was a priestess and likely held the status of a princess, though not in the conventional sense of being a king’s daughter. Rather, her high status came from her Libyan aristocratic lineage and her ceremonial role during the Late 25th Dynasty; a time of Kushite rule in Egypt, mingled with powerful Libyan families in the Delta region.

Inscriptions identify Takushit’s father as Akanosh II, a “Great Chief of the Ma,” a prominent Libyan tribe, suggesting Takushit’s elevated status. Such an important title indicates that Akanosh II was a significant regional leader in the Nile Delta during the reign of Kushite king Piye (also known as Piankhi), who ruled Egypt during the 25th Dynasty. This could explain, the reasoning behind Takushit’s name, which translates to; “the Kushite Woman” Egyptian: “ta-Kush-yt“, which may symbolically reference familial ties via possible marriage links to the Kushite royal house, or her father’s political alliances with the Kushite (25th Dynasty) ruling elite. Thus, Takushit’s title as a “wab-priestess” (a ritual purifier in temple cults) alongside her noble birth effectively placed her among the upper echelons of religious and regional aristocracy;worthy of a statue of such fine craftsmanship and ceremonial reuse in both life and death.

[Modern sources translate Takushit’s name somewhat misleadingly as “the Ethiopian“, however, the region of Ethiopia as we know it today was not known by that name in Egypt during the time of princess Takushit (c. 670 B.C.). The term Ethiopia comes from the Greek word Aithiopia (Αἰθιοπία), meaning “land of the burnt-faced people”, and it became common only in Greek and later Roman sources, from around the 5th century B.C. onward. The name “Takushit” therefore more accurately translates as “the Kushite Woman“, taken from the Egyptian “ta-Kush-yt”, using the Egyptian name for the land of Kush.

The later translation of “Kushite” into “Ethiopian” reflects how Greek and modern sources retroactively (and somewhat inaccurately) equated the land of Kush with Ethiopia, broadly generalising all regions south of Egypt’s border. This tendency is not unlike the Ancient Egyptians themselves, who often referred to their southern neighbours under the collective term “Nubia”, without always distinguishing the many diverse tribes and settlements that inhabited those lands. That said, Egyptian records did occasionally show greater nuance, distinguishing between regions such as the South (Ta-Seti), Lower Nubia (Wawat), and Upper Nubia (Kush).]

As of yet, there is no archaeological evidence currently available regarding Takushit’s tomb, mummy, or other personal belongings. The bronze statue itself provides the primary insights into her lineage and role. While the statue’s inscriptions and craftsmanship offer valuable information about Takushit’s religious and social standing, sadly (for now) no additional artefacts or burial sites have been discovered to further illuminate her life or familial connections

Hieroglyph Dress

The dress Takushit is adorned with is incised with intricate motifs filled with fine precious metal wires (a technique known as damascening), which shimmer against the darker bronze. These embellishments are divided into five wide horizontal bands alternating with four narrower registers at the waist, pelvis, thighs, and knees. The uppermost band, embracing the torso, is the broadest and richest in iconographic detail.

Depicted across the broader bands are divine figures specific to the north-eastern Nile Delta (Takushit’s homeland) while the narrow strips are inscribed with hieroglyphs comprising invocations and hymns to these regional deities. This adornment acts not only as ornamentation but as sacred scripture etched into her very garment, transforming her body into a vessel of worship.

Her arms, once bearing ritual emblems; a fly-whisk sceptre in the bent left, and a menat necklace in the extended right, signify her ceremonial duties. A broad usekh collar and twin bracelets complete her priestly attire. The craftsmanship extends even to her eyes, once inlaid with ivory, now with only remants of gold inlay remaining on the right, lend a life-like vitality.

Originally installed within the sacred precincts of a sanctuary during her lifetime, the statue likely formed part of ritual temple furnishings. Following her death, it served a votive or funerary function, adorning her tomb, itself probably situated within the very sanctuary where she had served. In both life and death, Takushit stood as a sacred presence, bridging the mortal and the divine.

This statue of Takushit, with its elegance and iconographic richness, finds a close parallel in the famed statue of Karomama, the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, now in the Musée du Louvre. Yet Takushit’s image remains singular, a striking testament to the power, beauty, and sanctity of elite women in the twilight of Ancient Egypt’s brief, yet memorable Kushite age.

Summary:

Bronze statue of Takushit (Bronze with Silver, Electrum inlay, and Ivory insets)

Third Intermediate Period, Late 25th Dynasty, c. 670 B.C.

From Kom-Toruga, near Lake Mariut, south of Alexandria, Lower Egypt

Now in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Greece. ΑΙΓ.110