Help - God of ?

[Astara Moon]

My girlfriend recently bought a statue about 2 ft. tall that looks very egyptian - it's male - with a cat-like face - ears that point straight up - whiskers - wears an ankh - his body is very toned - we think he has the Goddess Isis carved on one side of his body - and a sphinx at his feet - his belly button is carved in the shape of a key - he wears an egypitan type male skirt ... not sure if this is a god - or perhaps a protector of a god or goddess - maybe Isis???

Any thoughts...your help will surely be appreciated.
Blessings
AM

[Celticscryer]

What type of cat face? Like a domestic house cat? Or more like a lion?

Either way, the only Egyptian dieties with cat-like attributes were female, Bast with a cat face, and Sekhmet with the head of a lion. It's possible that the statue your friend purchased is of a male worshiper of one of these two, but not a god himself.

[Faeawyn]

Well...Isis was a goddess, not a male god....and I don't think she had a cat head.

[aftershocked]

There were a few feline gods in Egypt, although they weren't worshipped as extensively as some were.. Could be Maahes, the lion-headed son of Sekhmet(or Bast, depending on legend) that was a god of protection and justice.

Do you have a picture? It sounds like a beautiful statue. :)

*edit*
It could also be a statue of a priest of either Isis or Hathor, judging by the description. They often look almost exactly the same in statuary. Although I'm leaning towards Isis.

[liliana]

Isis definetely not...
Bast and Sekhmet sometimes were seen with a male body, ´cause they used to become "warriors" if necessary. Bast liked to do so to frighten people with her appearance, especially with her head being the cat-face. Many egyptian gods/ goddesses were sometimes male and female to fulfil all functions...

[Astara Moon]

Thanks to all that responded -

Liliana - this statue looks like a warrior body - perhaps it is Bast or Sekhmet -

Aftershocked - the statue isn't of Isis - there's a small goddess like image carved into the right side of the statue that looks like it may be Isis - but that's just a guess

The face on the statue is definately domestic cat like - the ears go straight uo

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions

[aftershocked]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant it may be a priest of or warrior for Isis. And I haven't heard of Bast or Sekhmet being depicted as males (although it would definately make sense). Do you know of a site depicting this?

[Azure]

It may be RA, the sun god, who was often depicted with the head of a lion.

[Ahautenites]

It could also be Nefertum.... http://www.ladyoftheflame.co.uk/gfx/nefertum.jpg , god of perfumes and other assorted toiletries. (Yes, they had a god of this stuff. Scent was very important in a place where cleanliness was sacred and bodies got ripe-smelling really fast.)

It's also possible that this is a bau of one of the above mentioned deities. This would be a servant of that god/dess that took on that dviine ones attributes in order to do the bidding of the one who created the image in the first place.