Detail of a Statue of Harwer (Horus the Elder)
This plastered and gilded wooden statue represents Harwer (Horus the Elder), the patron god of kingship. The figure is richly decorated with inlays of obsidian, colored glass paste, and bronze. It was discovered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who reigned circa 1336–1327 BCE during the 18th Dynasty. Catalogued as GEM 91 (formerly JE 60746), the piece is currently preserved in the Wood Laboratory at the Conservation Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza, Egypt. Photo: Sandro Vannini.

This piece (GEM 91; formerly JE 60746) is currently kept in the Wood Laboratory at the Conservation Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza, Egypt. Photo by Sandro Vannini.

“As the son of Isis and Osiris, Horus was regarded as the mythical heir to the throne of Egypt. Numerous stories recount his struggle to claim and preserve kingship from the usurper Seth, emphasizing this crucial aspect of his divine role.

Harwer (Haroeris), or ‘Horus the Elder,’ appears in these traditions as the mature god who battles the typhonic Seth for eighty years, until the tribunal of the gods ultimately grants him his rightful place on the throne of all Egypt.”